In Another's Shoes
by Splinter
Summary: Mike's the leader? Raph's the engineer? Don's the rebel? Leo's the goof off? What was Splinter thinking? He's thinking he needs some comic relief at his sons' expense. Besides, it's all in the name of learning. Some bad language. Reader beware.
1. Chapter 1

Splinter didn't know what his life would be like without his four sons. Their constant chatter, their spirit, their energy were a constant source of both entertainment and headache to the old rat. Now at fifteen, they were a well refined team. Their ability to work together and accomplish anything was second to none. He was very proud of all of them. 

"Doooooonieeeeee pleeeeeease!"

"Leave me alone Mike. I told you not to touch my computer."

"Look, Leo, I don't need another father. Go play daddy to someone else."

"I'm not trying to be your father Raph, if you would just listen to me for once."

"Leo! Donnie won't let me use his computer!"

"Not now Mike. Raph, I'm trying to talk to you."

Splinter sighed quietly setting down his cup of warm tea on the kitchen table. The winter temperatures had dropped well below freezing, thus trapping his sons in their home; with the exception of Raphael whom he had caught more than once sneaking back in the last few weeks.

Each time, his young son was half froze and in danger of mild hypothermia.

Each time, Splinter had lectured even while he helped Raphael warm up.

Each time, Raphael defended himself by swearing he would take someone's head off if he had to stay below and then Splinter would feel guilty. And Raphael would not be a party to his father's guilt.

Each time, Splinter had nothing to say to that.

The rat didn't know what his life would be like without his sons. But once, every now and then, he would like to find out

"Don, I'll be your best friend," Michelangelo promised crossing one finger across his plastron. "Cross my heart."

Donatello shook his head. "No Mike. Go bother Raph for once." The turtle waved off his younger brother heading for his room and some quiet.

"Raph would beat me up!"

Raphael flopped down on the couch determined to ignore his older brother's attempts at a lecture. "Damn straight I would. Leo, go play daddy to Mike. He needs it."

Leonardo sighed. "Raphael. I'm just saying that going topside alone is risky. Especially when it's so cold and especially when you never carry your communicator."

"I do carry it," Raph refuted just as he realized he'd been baited into the lecture by giving Leo more to talk about.

And Leo pounced on the opportunity. "No you don't Raph. The last two nights, I've found your comm laying on the kitchen table. How are we supposed to know you're ok when we can't get a hold of you?"

"I'm a big boy now Leo. I don't think I need to check in every ten minutes with big brother to tell him I'm alive." Raph grabbed the remote and flipped on the television ready to tune Leo out.

Mike decided not to get involved in their argument and went to Don's room determined to get a few hours' worth of internet time.

"Raph, don't you think that Splinter gets worried every time you're out so late. Do you really want him having that much stress? He's not getting any younger you know." Leo folded his arms over his plastron crossing the room to stand in front of the television.

Splinter blinked and picked up his cup as he tried not to take offense to Leonardo's comment. True, he was no longer in his prime but he did not have one paw in the grave either. And if anything was causing him stress, it was the constant bickering of his four charges.

Raph growled a little. "Move Leo. I'm done talkin 'bout this."

There was a loud crash from Don's room followed shortly by the sound of a turtle howling. "MIKE, look what you DID!"

Michelangelo came running out of Don's room. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It was an accident!"

Don came running out after him. "YOU are the accident!"

Ignoring his two youngest brothers, Leonardo turned back to Raphael.

"Shut up, Leo," Raph cut him off before he could even speak.

_How can I let this go_? Leonardo wondered to himself. _It was dangerous. It was disrespectful and because Splinter had told them all to stay below, it was..._

Leo's thoughts were interruptedby Michelangelo plowing head first intohim as he tried to get away from Don. Donatello had that rare look on his face. The one that said someone had crossed the line and the pacifist turtle was pissed. The one that said, someone…or better yet everyone had better get out of his way. And if you intended on asking for any kind of favor in the near future, you should help him get the object of his ire and assist in some necessary justice.

Raphael smirked because Leo was now otherwise occupied and he could at least watch the television even if he couldn't hear it over Mike's howls.

Leo untangled himself from Mike and got to his feet dragging his youngest brother with him while Don glared at struggling turtle. "Do you realize what you've done?"

Mike pulls his arm out of Leo's grip and nods sheepishly. He offers Don one of his best "I'm your only little brother" smiles. "I…uh…broke your glass thingy."

Before Don could explode into a million little pieces and take Mike with him, there was the sound of someone clearing his throat in the kitchen doorway. Movement stopped, arguments ended and all turned to the aged ninja master (with not one paw in the grave) behind them.

Splinter motioned to Raphael to turn off the television. "I would like you all to meet me in my room in five minutes please." With not one more word said, he walked to his room closing the door behind him.

All was quiet for about a minute as each son tried to gauge their father's facial expression and tone.

Leonardo glanced to his brothers finally breaking the silence "What do you think?"

Raphael rolled his eyes at such an obvious question. "I think he's pissed, genius." He clicked off the television and tossed the remote onto the couch.

"He didn't…look…pissed," Mike remarked hesitantly glancing from Splinter's door to the others.

Don nodded in agreement. "He actually looked pretty calm considering we've been at each other's throats for a week now."

Why did the eye of a hurricane suddenly spring into all four turtles' minds at the that moment?


	2. Chapter 2

Splinter lit one of his candles and set it beside him. He took deep breaths finding his center. True, his sons' arguing was beginning to weigh him down. It seemed that not an hour passed without his having to mediate one argument or another. 

Surprisingly, he was not angry. He understood all too well that they were restless and irritable. Such things tended to make even the most patient of people lose control.

Splinter considered this as he waited for his sons. He had intended on lecturing them in patience and perhaps a hint of warning that he was about to lose his soon enough. However, the more he considered things, the more he was thinking another approach might be more beneficial. Because he could understand his sons, he was better equipped to deal with them for such long periods of time.

The problem was…his sons did not really understand each other.

Splinter smiled slightly. Yes, perhaps an lesson in understanding would help more than a lecture. It would certainly be entertaining to him if nothing else.

He adopted a neutral and a bit stern visage when his sons knocked at the door. "Enter," he called quietly.

The door opened and he was not surprised that Leonardo was the first to enter. That was not so much an honor as it was a punishment, for Leo would be the first to see his Master's face and possibly anger. His oldest son approached cautiously, followed by his brothers. The lined up and knelt as one in front of their father.

Leonardo spoke for them all, as the bowed touching their heads to the floor. "Forgive us, Master. We know we have been very trying these last few days. We promise to do better and not bicker…so much."

Splinter hid a smile. "Do not make promises you cannot keep, My Son. While I have no doubt you have every intention of trying to get along, I fear that would will be hard pressed to do such a thing. I do, however, accept your apology and your good intentions. Please, rise all of you."

His sons sat back on their heels studying Splinter. They were still trying to get a feel for what awaited them. Just because Splinter forgave them, does not mean that some sort of punishment was not in their near future.

The sensei offered them all a small smile. "I have been doing much thinking in the last few minutes while I awaited your arrival. I must confess that I intended on banishing you all to your rooms for the remainder of the evening….and perhaps the remainder of the winter." He allowed himself a small chuckle at their expressions. "However, I think I have come up with something that will be more helpful."

Mike bit his lower lip. When Splinter got creative, things could get really ugly. Like that time when Raphael was just fourteen and Splinter caught him using his ninja stealth to sneak into a strip club. Michelangelo had listened in on the lecture, and heard Sensei tell Raph that he understood his curiosity even though they had all been taught the birds and the bees some years before.

However, such places were dangerous, not to mention demeaning to women. To help Raphael further understand, he made Raph research and give a report on human sexuality. His older brother was so mortified, not to mentioned horrified at the chapter on STD's, that to Mike's knowledge, Raph hadn't been back to that club.

Either that, or Raph just got more sneaky. The more he thought about it, the more Mike was convinced it was the latter. Either way, Mike sometimes preferred the straight out punishments to Splinter's life lessons and judging by his brothers' expressions, they were just as wary.

"It has occurred to me that the four of you really do not understand one another," Splinter continued, well aware of the nervousness of his sons. "Leonardo, you no more understand Michelangelo's love of comics, than he understands your desire to practice more than I require. Raphael, you do not understand Donatello…"

Raphael cut Splinter off a little defensively. "Sensei, no one understands Donnie."

Don straightened slightly but no one could tell if he was offended or proud of the observation.

"This is just my point, Raphael," Splinter sighed. "Perhaps if you understood each other better…than you would have more patience with each other. And it would only help your teamwork."

There was silence for a moment and then Leonardo bowed slightly. "Hai, Sensei. I see you are right. We know each other well, but we do not understand each other at times. We should strive to improve on this."

Splinter hid another smile. _Ah, my dear Leonardo,_he thought. _If only I were to let you off that easily._

"Yes, you should Leonardo," Splinter said. "However, I think I have an exercise that will help you in the endeavor."

Now his sons were alert again. They should have known that Leonardo's smooth words would not placate their father.

"An exercise, Sensei?" Donatello asked. "What sort of exercise?"

"It is said, My Sons, that you cannot understand another person until you have walked a mile in their shoes. I believe this to be true. Therefore, beginning tomorrow and lasting for twenty four hours, you will all change places for the day." Splinter sat back to watch the melee.

"You mean…"Raphael began slowly. "That we get to take Leo's place for a day?" He started to smile at the idea.

Until Splinter quickly erased it. "Yes Raphael. I believe Michelangelo can take his place."

Stunned silence.

"Me?" Mike said and grinned. "I get to be leader for the day? I get to be the boss of everyone?"

Leonardo's eyes widened. Why did he feel like he just got demoted? "Sensei, no disrespect, but…Mike?"

The wise rat nodded. "Yes. And Leonardo, you can take Michelangelo's place."

Raph blinked. "But Mike doesn't DO anything all day."

"Hey!" Mike protested. But he was too busy thinking about what being leader will mean to carry his protest further.

_I'll go insane_, Leonardo thought desperately. _Either that or Mike will drive us all insane._

Don was the only one who wasn't so much focused on Mike's being leader as he was focusing on what this would mean for him. "Sensei, you can't mean that Raphael and I….?"

Splinter now let his smile come through. "Yes Donatello. You and Raphael will change places and no, you cannot padlock your laboratory. But I will allow you to put away anything potentially dangerous."

"I can't do what Don does!" Raphael said angrily. "I can't even understand what he's saying most of the time!"

"Then it appears you can spend the twenty four hours reading books to understand what he is saying," Splinter's calm voice was in sharp contrast to his son's angry one. "You will all spend the rest of this evening making a list of things you were going to do tomorrow. And I will be reading them over, so do not try to make a false list."

Donatello's heart sunk. Not only could he not go into his lab, or on his computer, or work on his projects, but Raphael would have access to all of that. And what could Raphael's list possibly include? Wake up at 7 am and be pissed the rest of the day? Of course, this was in between times fighting with Leo, and going out with Casey. Oh god, did he have to spend the day with Casey?

Splinter studied his sons. Of all of them, the only one who seemed happy was Michelangelo. He thought his youngest would quickly realize that being the leader was not what he thought it would be.

"Sensei," Leonardo's voice was quiet and respectful. "We understand the lessons you are trying to teach, but…there must be some other way."

_Though none half as entertaining_, Splinter thought while pretending to consider Leonardo's protest. He nodded. "Perhaps, Leonardo. But I believe this to be the best way. I will expect your lists within the hour. You are all dismissed."


	3. Chapter 3

_**Michelangelo was running. He was running on a grassy field under the bright warm sun. He was not running away from something but rather running to someone. She was beautiful. Her hair flying behind her as she ran toward Mike. She wanted him, and he wanted her. Their love was perfect, beautiful. They met and embraced. Mike kissed her soft lips and for a moment the world was right. Nothing else mattered. Not even that he didn't even know this girl's name or where she came from.**_

_**They parted and she opened her beautiful mouth to speak. Mike waited in anticipation to hear her voice. It would be as soft and as sweet as an angels. She spoke.**_

_**"BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!"**_

_**Michelangelo blinked and shook his head. He looked at his perfect girl worriedly and asked her to repeat her words.**_

_**She smiled lovingly at him and spoke again. "BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!"**_

_**"BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!"**_

Mike groaned. How dare his dream of the perfect woman be interrupted by his alarm. He didn't even know he HAD an alarm. He rolled over trying to hit the snooze button, the off button or just the shut the hell up button, but for some reason his stand wasn't where he thought it would be and he rolled right off the bed and onto the floor.

Rubbing his head, Mike reached up and smacked his hand down on the alarm. Blessed silence. He pushed himself up onto his bed and glanced at the clock.

5:00 AM?

"What the hell?" he muttered. "I don't wake up this early. Only LEO wakes up…" He trailed off. "Oh. Right." He glanced around the room and remembered. Splinter insisted that since their reversal day began at dawn, they might as well sleep in each other's rooms. He was in Leo's room.

He remembered laying down last night. The cleanliness of the room bothered him. Everything was right where it was supposed to be. Leo's books were even arranged according to size. It had taken all of ten minutes to fall asleep last night and Mike was the type to sleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. The room was just…eerie.

Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Mike fell back down on the bed. Even LEO must take a day to sleep in every now and again. His eyes fell on the paper on the nightstand. The List. The list of things that Leo had been wanting to accomplish for the day. Even his oldest brother's list was arranged nice and neat. Everything had it's own set time. Including waking up.

5:00 AM.

Mike groaned again and sat up. With a weary sigh, he picked up the piece of paper. He had skimmed it last night, but really hadn't thought much of it.

"Meditate at 5:30," Mike read aloud. "Who meditates at 5:30? You just woke up." He smiled a little. Meditation. Perfect time for a cat nap. And no one else was awake to know about it. He got to his feet and fell back down. His body was protesting being up so early. Giving himself a little pep talk, and counting to three, he got to his feet again.

"Ok. Awake at 5:00 AM. Check. Compared to this, the rest of the day's gonna be a snap."

He headed for his door. Leonardo hadn't said what to do from 5:00-5:30, so Mike figured this was Leo's "get ready" time. Since no one else, with the possible exception of Splinter, was awake until almost 7, this was the perfect time to get to the bathroom first, get breakfast first, and maybe even watch a little television without having to fight over the remote.

This getting up early thing might be worth trying out more often. Mike, half sleepwalking, ran straight into the wall. Rubbing his head for the second time in ten minutes, he decided sleeping in was safer.

**Leonardo **laid awake in Mike's bed. He had been awake when the alarm went off in his room.He had set it for Mike, knowing that his brother's internal alarm clock did not go off so early. He listened wondering if Michelangelo would actually get up or go back to sleep.

He smiled faintly hearing his brother run into the wall. He was up. Not willingly, but he was up. Leo looked over his brother's list for the tenth time. Everything was so hit or miss. Nothing about Mike's day was organized.

"Wake up and practice," Leo murmured. "Wake up at what time?"

He sighed. Usually, he had to drag Mike out of bed for morning practice, so he figured he had best just wait to be woken by his brother in an hour or so. He continued reading.

"Eat breakfast. Watch television. Annoy Raphael."

Leo sighed again. Michelangelo had a gift for annoying them, but he never thought that Mike would actually _plan_ it into his day. This was actually Mike's second list. The first having been vetoed by Splinter, thankfully. It included wonderful things such as, "clean my room."

Leonardo glanced around the room. Even knowing that Mike's room was a disaster hadn't prepared him to actually be sleeping in it. After carefully navigating his way through the mess on the floor without being eaten by anything, he'd had to clear off Mike's bed. The comics, drawing pad, plate of uneaten cheese crackers and empty soda can were balanced precariously on Mike's desk now.

Mike's first list also included something like "do all my chores for the week." Splinter had told Michelangelo these things could be accomplished the next day if he so wished. Mike decided to make a new list.

"Eat lunch. Watch television. Study with Splinter. Annoy Donatello."

Leo shook his head and set the paper down. He knew that Mike had been spending an hour or so each day studying with Splinter. Their formal academic education had ended earlier in the year. Lately, Sensei had been taking them one at a time to hone their more individual skills.

Leonardo had spent time with Splinter studying tactical plans, Japanese culture, and the more mystical aspects of ninjutsu. He knew Mike had been studying herbal healing and poisons. Mike had even joked he would try one of them out one night while cooking dinner. If everyone got sick, he knew he used a poison. He got 20 flips for such a crude joke about his lessons.

Anything that his sensei had to teach Leonardo would interest him, but having grown up on Splinter's herbal cures, he wasn't too keen on learning to use them. He preferred not knowing what it was being forced down his throat. Staring up at the ceiling, Leo tried to understand what it was Splinter was teaching them with this role reversal.

Michelangelo's day was simple compared to his. Mike couldn't possibly do everything he could in a day. Not that Mike wasn't capable, but he knew that his youngest brother just didn't want to do it. Leo didn't think there was anything that he could learn by being Mike for a day. Maybe this was just Splinter's way of giving him a vacation. He closed his eyes. A whole day to goof off. It hadn't been his idea, but he might as well try to make the most of it. Even as he thought it, Leonardo knew he wouldn't be able to do it.

Some disaster was bound to happen and Mike would plead with Splinter until Leo could take over again. Or Splinter would realize how stressful this whole thing was going to be with Mike in command and insist things be the way they always were. He smiled. He just had to wait for some disaster to strike.


	4. Chapter 4

_Thanks to Cynlee,who it is always fun to bounce ideas off of and who is giving me just what I always give her. Constant nagging to get to writing :) _

_**Donatello knew that he was supposed to stay away from his lab, but both curiosity and anxiety drove him to make sure things were alright. He tried to calm himself. After all, how much chaos could Raphael cause in one day? Especially since Raphael had no real desire to do anything anyway.**_

_**Don inched open the lab door cautiously and blinked. Raphael was wearing his lab coat, using his tools at HIS workbench. He inched open the door a little more trying to get a peek at what Raph was doing.**_

_**"Raphael? Uh, some of that stuff could be dangerous if you don't know…"**_

_**"SHH!" Raphael said without looking at him. "M'inventin something. Get out."**_

_**Donatello was stunned into momentary silence. "This is MY lab, Raphael. And that's MY tools you're using. You don't even know how to use them. You could break something."**_

_**His brother ignored him and continued on with his "inventin." Don, for the sake of his own sanity, crept closer to get a peek at what Raphael was doing. His eyes widened. "Raphael, that's…that's a nuclear BOMB you're messing around with!"**_

_**Raph grinned. "Yeh I know. Amazin what you can learn off the 'net. Oh, by the way, I fixed that atom splitter you've been working on."**_

_**"Raphael you have no idea how dangerous this is!" Don was practically screaming. How could his brother, who had trouble with long division as a kid, just whip up a nuclear warhead?**_

_**Still tinkering away, Raph mumbled, "Now I'll have something I can use if Mike pisses me off again."**_

_**Don's jaw dropped. "This isn't a toy Raphael! This is a weapon! It could destroy the city. Disarm it!" **_

_**His gaze shifted to the counter just beside his brother. Frowning slightly, Don picked up the newspaper clipping. The picture was of a turtle smiling for the camera holding some sort of award.**_

_**"Raphael Hamato is the first non human to receive the Nobel Prize for Science. Genius turtle perfected faster than light travel in just twenty four hours. Says famed mutant, 'My brother always thought he was the smart one. Guess he was wrong.'"**_

_**Raphael seemed to be ignoring his brother again. "Damn! Wrong wire."**_

_**BOOM! (insert dramatic mushroom cloud here)**_

Donatello choked off a scream as he thrashed around. The hammock he was laying on in Raph's room tipped and dumped him unceremoniously onto his face. Laying still for a few moments, he tried to get his wits about him. He was in Raph's room, laying on one of Raph's smelly sweatbands. Raph wasn't a genuis. He didn't win the Nobel Prize.Don's world hadn't been turned upside down.

Nodding to himself, Donatello sat up slowly and glanced around the room. "No, it's just been turned sideways," he muttered. Stretching out all the kinks from having slept in a hammock all night, Don got to his feet. It wasn't as bad as he had thought it would be actually. Of course, he often fell asleep at his desk, so the hammock was an improvement.

As he stretched, he managed to convince himself that there was no way that Raphael could do the things he had just dreamed. Not by a long shot. Oh, he knew Raph wasn't stupid, but he contented himself with the knowledge that he had left Raphael a list of simple things to accomplish. Even RAPH could manage to change a few lightbulbs, right?

He rubbed his eyes and picked up the list he had left on the floor; the only really clear spot ON the floor. Raphael hadn't been thrilled with the prospect of being Don for a day, so he had tried an impromptu rebellion against the exercise. He, respectfully mind you, told Splinter that this idea was one of the most ridiculous that his sensei had ever come up with and he refused to participate.

A private chat with Splinter and twenty minutes later, Raph handed his brother the list.

Donatello scanned the list wondering what it might be like to be Raphael for a day. He just couldn't be as caustic as his brother seemed to be. Well, sensei didn't say that they had to ACT like each other, just that they had to do what the other was going to. As he scanned the list, he noticed that there were a lot of extra chores on there. He knew Splinter had approved of the lists, but this didn't make any sense to him. They never had this much to do unless…this was Raphael's punishment for sneaking out all those times.

"This is so not right," Don complained to the empty room. "I didn't do anything." He sighed. Not much he could do about it now, but he would lodge a formal protest to Splinter later. He kept scanning the list and frowned slightly. Raph wrote a note at the bottom of the page.

"There are at least two things you gotta do at no particular time and in no particular order. Tell Leo…well I guess it's gotta be Mike…to fuck off.. And do something someone told you not to do for the sheer hell of it."

Don rolled his eyes. Typical Raphael. Since Raphael's list didn't include any times for anything, just a general list of things to do for the day, Don decided to leave the room as soon as possible. While not as bad as Mike's room, there was still a layer of dirty towels and sweat bands on the floor that probably contained enough mold to make a quart of penicillin.

Raphael's alarm clock was in constant pieces from being tossed, stabbed or beaten into submission, so the turtle had no idea what time it was. He could guess it was sometime in the early morning. Retrieving his eye mask and pads from Raph's desk, Don got ready for the day and headed into the darkened living room. Checking the clock on the VCR, he noticed that it was just before 6 in the morning. He passed the dojo on the way to the bathroom and noticed Leo was meditating.

Don paused, frowned and backed up. Since when does Leo snore when he meditates? He backed up and looked into the dojo again. Not Leo. Mike. Mike was at least pretending to meditate. But the snores and the drool escaping his mouth told Don otherwise. Mike's chin was against his chest and his eyes were closed in peaceful although seemingly uncomfortable, slumber. He chuckled quietly and went to leave his brother in peace.

He froze again. Leaving Mike in peace would certainly not be a Raph thing to do. A Donnie thing, sure, but not a Raph. And Mike had broken his new invention yesterday.

_Live and let live, Donnie_, he thought to himself. That was always his motto. But Raph's was…. "_Don't get mad...get REALLY mad and then get even." _

Maybe acting like Raph, just a little, would have some benefits to it. Don stayed perfectly quiet, contemplating a Raphael-type revenge that didn't involve beating Mike to a pulp


	5. Chapter 5

_((Sorry all, I uped the rating. I hadn't intended on the naughty language. I blame Raphael))_

**_They were gorgeous. A blond, a brunette and a redhead. Beautiful women who found him just as attractive. (the contents of the rest of this must remain censored and private for the sake of the ratings)_**

The hissing and gurgling of one of Don's many inventions woke Raphael up from his amazing dream.

The turtle growled glancing over to the noisy machine in the corner. He would have ended its mechanical life hours ago, if only he knew that he wouldn't take out half the lair by doing it. How Donnie could possibly sleep among all this…stuff…was beyond him. He knew from many times experience that the sounds would end in about thirty seconds and leave him with another hour's peace and quiet.

Right on time, the noises ended and Raph closed his eyes ready to pick up his dream where he left off.

**RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!**

The alarm clock suddenly went off causing Raph to jump about a foot in the air. With an angry groan he picked it up and hurled it against the far wall silencing it forever. At least he knew THAT wouldn't blow up. Well, he knew it now. He rubbed one hand over his eyes, cursing under his breath.

This day just started and it sucked already. One thing was certain, even if he had to sleep on the couch, he was NOT sleeping in Don's room tonight. Throwing his legs over the side of the bed, he sat up reluctantly. He glanced over at the clock that was shattered into three pieces. The face was intact at least, and it told him it was almost seven. He hoped it was right. Time to get up.

Stretching once, his gaze fell to the list he had tossed onto Don's nightstand. He had been so irritated that he hadn't even looked at it. If there was one good thing about this whole situation, it was that he didn't have to follow a list made by either Leo or Mike. He knew Mike had tried to con his way into making Leo clean his room and do his slave labor. He also knew that Leo had planned out Mike's day down to the very second. He wouldn't have been surprised if Leonardo had included, "go take a dump at noon" on his list.

With Don, he was hoping for some kind of leeway. He knew he'd given Don a lot of it. Raph got to his feet and crossed the room to retrieve the list. He read through it and realized it wasn't so much a list as it was a letter with a bunch of do's and don'ts.

Dear Raphael,

There are several things that I wished to accomplish for the day. However, some of them require quite a bit of engineering experience and electrical knowledge, so those things can be bypassed. But seeing as how I am supposed to include all that I wanted to do, these things are spelled out in red with a big red X through them. Please do not attempt them.  
1: Change any burned out light bulbs in the lair.  
2: Finish project number 164 (big red X through that one)  
3: Check the tires on the Battle Shell. One may be going flat.  
4: Check on project 165 (big red X through that one too) 5: Research theory on new lair security system.

Raph sighed. "Boring. No red X through the security system thing . Might be worth looking into. Screw the research though." He tossed the list on the bed and headed out of the room.

"Hey Raphie boy," Mike said with a grin coming up beside him. "I was just comin' to wake you up. Don't want to be late for practice. Uh uh. Be real irresponsible of me if I let that happen."

Raphael bit back his usual reply to his cheerful brother and just mumbled something of an agreement. During his private talk with Splinter, his sensei insisted that in exchange for Donatello having to do some of his punishment chores, Raphael had to tone down his attitude for the day. At the time it seemed like a fair exchange, but now, realizing that Mike intended to play this leader thing to the hilt, he wasn't so sure.

Mike's grin increased. "M'gonna go wake Leo up. Pay back's a bitch huh? For all the mornings he woke me. Think I'm gonna tip the mattress over. OH! Or maybe a horn or something?"

"Whatever, Mike," Raph muttered. Splinter didn't say he had to be Mr Personality, especially not first thing in the morning. He turned briefly to watch his brother practically skip down toward his room and blinked in surprise. He rubbed his eyes and looked again. Written in big red marker across Mike's shell were the words…

**Fuck Off, Raphael.**

Raph blinked again staring at the words. "What the…?"

"Pretty good huh?"

Raphael turned to see Donatello with a huge grin on his face. Raph studied his brother. "I said to tell MIKE that."

Don smiled. "Yeh I know. And actually I had considered it. But, you know me. I never do what anyone tells me. In fact, I do the complete opposite. For the sheer hell of it, of course."

A slight smile crossed Raph's face. "Yeh…of course."

Don returned the smile and headed off toward the dojo leaving his brother a little surprised, but very amused. Raph shook his head. Of all his brothers, he got along with Don the most when they were kids. Mainly because Don didn't make it his life's work to annoy him like Leo and Mike did.

He headed off to the bathroom to get ready for his day as the resident genius.

Mike opened the door to his bedroom very quietly. Not even a creaking sound could be heard. He knew that Leo was a light sleeper, but he wanted the "honor" of being the one to wake his brother up. He debated the best way to do it. Over the years, Leo had found many creative ways to get him out of bed. Mainly because after several uses, Mike became immune to Leo's ways and could sleep through them. Now, his brother was bundled up in the blankets so comfy and cozy, that he could barely see him.

Poor Leo had no immunities. And the torture that he had to suffer was only limited by Mike's imagination. He crept quietly into the room on ninja feet. He had a small bugle, a toy really, in his hands. Getting as close to the bed as he possibly could, he blew out his own version of reveille. He watched the bed in anticipation and frowned when no turtle jumped ten feet into the air.

How dare Leo ruin his fun by sleeping through the horn. He reached down to grip the mattress, intending on tipping it. However as soon as his hand grabbed the side, a black hand shot out with a firm grip onto Mike's wrist. The covers were thrown back to reveal a hideous and blood dripping face.

Mike screamed pulling his hand away and jumping back.

The hideous face laughed and the gloved hand pulled away the mask, leaving only a chuckling turtle.

Mike's eyes widened at his older brother. "LEO!"

Leonardo tossed the mask aside and jumped to his feet. "Come on Fearless Leader. Can't be late for practice."


	6. Chapter 6

Splinter stood quietly in the dojo watching as his sons filed in. To his surprise, Donatello was first to arrive and if Splinter wasn't mistaken, his son had quite the pleased expression on his face. 

The sensei had been up since before dawn, anticipating any sort of calamity that may start the day. He was not expecting a smooth twenty four hours. If anything he was expecting utter chaos. The difference being that this chaos was, in part, his creation. He could sit back and enjoy it as long as they weren't trying to kill each other. However, the fact that they had all risen without any sort of trouble, was giving him a new hope for the rest of the exercise.

Donatello, seeing that he was the first to arrive, decided that perhaps this would be a good time to bring up something that he considered to be a very unfair part of this whole thing. He approached Splinter, and bowed.

"Good morning, Master," he greeted. No doubt, he was both more cheerful and more respectful than Raphael would have been under the circumstances. Donatello saw no reason to get Splinter upset first thing in the morning and Splinter was always more reasonable to one who was reasonable in return. The extra chores were surely an oversight on his sensei's part. This would be easy to fix.

Splinter returned the bow. "Good morning, My Son. Did you sleep well?"

"Aside from a particularly disturbing dream, yes I did." Don chose not to dwell on the nightmare that had plagued him so much. "I wanted to talk to you, about…Raphael's list."

Splinter nodded sitting down on the floor and motioning for Don to do likewise. He wondered if his son would protest the punishment chores or just deal with it as is, but the ninja master feigned ignorance. "Yes, something bothers you about it?"

Don nodded taking a seat across from his sensei. "I noticed that Raphael had…quite a bit of chores to do today. More so than usual."

"Yes. Chores to keep him occupied. As well as to keep him around the lair for awhile. His sneaking out had gotten quite out of hand as of late." Splinter folded his hands in his lap and waited. He could tell his son was confused.

"But, Sensei," Donatello began hesitantly. "I didn't do it." He tried to keep the whine from his voice which wouldn't be a Raph OR a Don thing to do.

"I know this, Donatello. As I said, it was Raphael." Splinter was enjoying this a bit too much. He was going to force his son to speak up and not to hint around it. Donatello, too often, let things lie. He controlled his temper to the point that his brothers could often take advantage of him, as Raphael was trying to do with the chores. Having sensed a lesson to be taught, Splinter allowed Raphael to include them on his list. It would be up to Donatello to not only see the unfairness, but to do something about it.

Don blinked in surprise. "So, you knew Raphael had them on his list of things for me to do?"

Splinter considered the question, carefully. He wanted to give his son an honest answer to his question, but without giving him the solution. This was Donatello's lesson to be learned, not his. "Yes, I knew that Raphael had included them. They were something that Raphael had to accomplish for the day, so they fit into the exercise."

Don was taken aback. He wanted to emphasize the "I didn't DO it" sentence again, but he had said that once already and had come dangerously close to whining. If he said it again, he knew there would be even more of it in his voice. Not sure what else to say, Don nodded. "Ok, uh…just checking. I guess." He started to get to his feet.

Sighing inwardly, Splinter decided to throw his son a hint. Call him an old softy. "Although I am not sure that Raphael would have done them all today. He can be quite stubborn about such things. Sometimes it takes many days of chores for him to learn his lesson."

Don studied Splinter for a moment and than filed that particular statement away for future contemplation. He heard the sounds of his brothers coming to the dojo.

He bowed again, a shorter more abbreviated bow; a Raphael-type bow. "Thank you, Sensei."

Michelangelo was the next to enter the dojo and he at once approached his sensei with a respectful bow. "Good morning, Oh wise and wonderful Sensei. Your perfect student is ready to be…uh…perfect today."

Don rolled his eyes and muttered just loud enough for Mike to hear. "Come on Mike, even Leo isn't that obvious." He walked away before the blatant brown nosing made him nauseous.

Splinter pretended to not hear Don's muttering and returned Mike's bow. "Good morning, Michelangelo. It is good to see you so enthusiastic today."

Mike grinned. "I gotta feeling, it's gonna be a great day."

He had gotten over his near heart attack courtesy of Leo and had already put into motion a small payback for the prank. It wasn't a return prank, of course. The temporaryleader of the turtles would never dare pull a prank on his siblings. He was much too serious for that. He hadjust waited until Leonardo had gone into the bathroom to get ready and then locked the door from the outside.

Mike reasoned to himself that it was not a prank. Many times, Leonardolocked them in places just to see if their skills were sharp enough for them to escape. It was just up to Leo to pick the lock soon enough before he was late for practice.

Mike turned to go warm up and didn't hear the surprised intake of breath from his sensei as he read the sign posted to his son's shell. He also didn't notice that at that very moment, Don was trying very hard to hide his smile.

Splinter sighed inwardly wondering who was responsible. He glanced up and caught sight of Donatello's small smirk and didn't have to wonder for long. Perhaps his son was already beginning to understand the lessons he was supposed to be learning. Splinter wasn't too thrilled with the crudeness of the subtle rebellion and he would make certain Don helped his brother to remove the graffiti. However, he had to secretly admire the creativity.

Putting the bold red statement to the back of his mind, Splinter watched as Raphael walked into the room. Like his brothers, he approached his master and bowed.

"Morning, Master," he said suppressing a yawn.

Splinter smiled, returning the gesture. "Good morning, Raphael. You did not sleep well?"

_What was your first clue_, Raphael thought bitterly, but he just shook his head. "M'fine. Just not used to sleepin' in a bed, I guess." _In Frankenstein's lab._

His sensei nodded. "I see. Perhaps you can rest later."

Raph shrugged and walked over to where his brothers were stretching. Mike smiled at him. "Hey Raph, I keep getting static on my radio again. How bout fixin it after breakfast?"

Raphael just glared at Mike who didn't for one second lose his smile. "I mean, last time, it was just a loose wire. You can do that, right? Fix a little loose wire?"

"Why don't you just do it then?" Raphael was hard pressed to keep his tone of voice civil, but he was managing. He didn't even look to see how much enjoyment Donnie was getting out of all this.

"Well I would of course," Mike said nodding. "But, I'm pretty busy doing important leader stuff today and since you're Mr. Fix-It, I just thought…but if you're afraid or something I can get…"

Even though there was nothing mocking or patronizing about Mike's tone, Raph stiffened. "I am not afraid. I'll fix the damn wire after breakfast."

Mike grinned. "Thanks, Bro." He fell silent as the master clapped his hands twice. They all lined up in front of Splinter, but had arranged themselves so they were in each other's spots.

Splinter glanced up at his sons and frowned. "It is time to get started. Where is Leonardo?"

Mike looked surprised. "He's awake, Master." He smiled looking pleased with himself. "I made sure he got up and I saw him go into the bathroom."

**Meanwhile...**Leonardo was silently cursing as he tried to use a pair of nail clippers to pop the lock. He was going to be late for practice for the first time since he could remember. Even if he knew for certain that Mike was behind this, he couldn't point the finger at him. He couldn't admit that it had taken so long to get free from a locked door. He wondered how much trouble he would get into if just kicked the damn door down.

Back in the dojo, Splinter sighed and shook his head. He regarded his sons. "We will begin without..."

**_CRASH!_**

All four ninja jumped at the sound and they ran as fast as they could to find the source. Leonardo was standing just inside the bathroom, the door on the ground at his feet. He looked quite surprised to see it there.

"Great," Raph said. "Something ELSE for me to fix."


	7. Chapter 7

_Special thanks to Cynlee and Mei for help with this chapter and Leo's reactions to the "door" situation._

Leonardo stared at his family who were in turn staring at him. Even if he hadn't known who locked him in the bathroom before, Michelangelo's reaction now confirmed it. His little brother had both hands clasped over his mouth firmly but they couldn't stop the little giggles from escaping.

He hadn't meant to bust down the entire door. He thought that if he kicked the door knob, the lock might break and he could get out. Obviously, they just don't make doors like the used to or maybe the hinges were weak, because the whole door just fell.

Splinter's gaze bored into him and his sensei was obviously expecting some kind of explanation. Leo thought quickly. How could he explain without telling everyone that he had tried unsuccessfully for ten minutes to pick the lock? The eldest turtle was at a loss. This type of thing never happened to him. This was the sort of thing that happened to Mike. Mike. He was taking Mike's place for the day. How would MIKE handle this situation? What would Mike say?

Leo offered his sensei what he hoped was a sincere smile but was just really a not-so-good imitation of Mike's innocent look. He said the first thing that came to mind. It was a Mikey line if he ever heard one.

"I didn't do it," Leo said quickly.

Silence.

Leonardo studied his family, his father in particular, to see how well that sentence went over. Not so good. Of COURSE he did it. He was the one standing in the bathroom with the door at his feet. Who else could have done it?

Ok, time to back up and try again. He needed another Mikey-ism; a better one this time, because the first one just sucked. In his defense though, Leo was new to this sort of thing. He hadn't had to come up with some excuse for something as stupid as this since he was a kid. And come to think of it, those times had always involved Mike too.

"I barely touched it!" Leo tried again.

Silence.

Again, Leonardo tried to read the expressions on his family's faces. He didn't look at Mike, because he didn't want to see how amused his little brother was at Leo's predicament.

Raphael though the whole thing almost as funny as Michelangelo, but his amusement was tapered by wondering how he would fix the damn door.

Donatello, he could see, just looked as surprised as Leo felt. How in the world did Leonardo of all people get himself into this mess?

And Splinter. Splinter just looked calm. His face was completely unreadable, but Leonardo just knew that his last explanation was received just as well as the first. His mind raced trying to come up with another Mikey type excuse. One that didn't sound quite so…childish. But Mikey's excuses always sounded childish.

And that was when Mike did something that no one expected him to, even Mikey himself.

In a very calm and leader-ish voice, Mike spoke up. "It was partly my fault, Sensei." The temporary leader faced Splinter with as serious a face as anyone had seen. "I was testing Leo's abilities to pick the lock on the door, but I didn't think it was impossible." He gave Splinter his trademark "little boy" look. "Guess Leo thought his only option was to break his way out."

Splinter was surprised at Michelangelo's calm and mature admission. He had greatly underestimated this youngest son. Perhaps today would give him the chance to become a bit more responsible.

He nodded slightly. " I see. Very well, then. Although, you should have spoken up in the dojo when your brother did not arrive, Michelangelo. The two of you can help Raphael fix the door later."

He pointedly ignored Raphael's mumbled complaint.

Mike bowed, respectfully. "Hai, Sensei. I'm sorry." He turned slightly to give the still stunned Leonardo an expectant look.

The look jolted Leo from his silence and also bowed. "Hai, Sensei. I apologize as well."

Splinter smiled slightly. "You are forgiven, My Sons. Come, let us begin this morning's training." He turned and went into the dojo followed by both Raphael and Donatello.

Leo quickly grabbed Mike's arm preventing him from following. He smiled slightly. "I really do owe you for locking me in there. But thanks for helping me out just now."

Mike grinned. "No problem, Leo. You've done the same, on both counts. So how 'bout we say we're even?" He offered his brother his hand.

Leo took it, shaking his head at the maturity his brother was showing. "Fine, we're even." He released his brother's hand and sighed. "I still can't believe that I couldn't get that lock. I should have been out in ten seconds flat."

Mike's eyes glittered with amusement. "Ohhhh yeh. That. Heh, well. It's kind of hard to pop a lock that's had superglue put on it."

Leonardo blinked. "Superglue? Who put superglue on it?"

Mike turned to back away from his brother with a huge grin. "I did of course. When I locked you in there. The fast drying kind that Donnie's been working on. Had to give it a test before we tried using it outside of the lair. What kind of a leader would I be if I let you guys take an untested product in the field?"

Leo's eyes narrowed. "Michelangelo…" How dare this weasel of a turtle make it so he COULDN'T pass one of his little "leader" tests.

Mike put one finger to his mouth. "SHH…practice time Leo. Gotta be respectful in the dojo. Besides, you shook on it. We're even." He turned and bowed as he walked into the dojo.

Leo was about to tackle his brother from behind but the bright red words on Mike's shell acted as a stop sign. His eyes widened slightly and then he choked off laughter. Since Mike would have to be a contortionist to write it on himself, that only left Donatello. He was a bit surprised at the profanity, especially since Master Splinter was sure to see it. He chuckled. Leave it to Don to get back at both Mike and Raph with a few swipes of a marker.

Leo bowed into the dojo and took his place, or rather, he took Mike's place. It felt odd being at the end of the line rather than the front of it, but he took it in stride as his sensei began to explain the day's lesson. He noticed Michelangelo's concentrated effort to pay close attention to what Splinter was saying. Leo wondered if everyone was expecting him to be a class clown for the day.

Even as he thought it, Leo knew he wouldn't be able to do it. He could take Mike's place, but he certainly couldn't fool around in practice. He had far too much respect for his sensei and his training to do that. Especially after the incident with the bathroom door, he had to prove to Master Splinter that he was the same person he always was. The mature, responsible one who did everything to perfection. A vacation was one thing, but he would never…

"Leonardo?" Splinter's voice broke into his thoughts and the eldest turtle realized he hadn't heard one word of what his sensei had been saying.

Michelangelo was somehow standing beside him and Leo felt his face flush at his lack of attention in what was going on. Was this how Mike felt all the time? Leo hadn't been trying to not pay attention. He had just been distracted. Of course, that wasn't an excuse, but now Mike was staring at him expectantly and Leo wasn't sure what he was supposed to do.

"I…uh…" He looked to his brother's briefly for some clue as to what was going on but their amused faces told him nothing. His face heated up even more and he lowered his head. "I…"

Splinter studied him. He knew that with everything that had happened in the last few moments, Leonardo was distracted. Even more so than his other sons, just not being in his usual place was bound to affect him. "You were not paying attention." It was not a question and he could see the embarrassment that his oldest son was feeling.

Leo shook his head and he tried not to squirm under his master's gaze. At a time like this, he knew Mikey would give their father his best "I love you" look and offer him a sincere apology, followed by a smile. It happened almost every day, but now it was happening to him and he couldn't do what Mikey did. As he found out earlier, it wasn't going to work for him anyway.

"No, Sensei. I was…distracted for a moment. There is no excuse for it and I apologize."

After several long agonizing moments, Splinter nodded. "I was saying that in keeping with today's exercise, you would exchange weapons our practice session."

That would explain why Mike was standing beside him and was now offering Leo his nun chucks. _Thanks, Mike_, he thought. _If you had done that in the first place, I might have known what was going on._

He took Mike's weapons and gave him his katana. Even as he did so, he realized that very rarely did he try to get Mike off the hook when he was caught not paying attention. To Leo's way of thinking, if he helped Mike out, he wouldn't learn anything about concentration. He sighed quietly coming to the conclusion that being Mikey was not all that easy.

"Before we begin," Splinter continued. "Leonardo, you will twenty flips for your lack of focus. The rest of you can begin warming up with these weapons."

Leo bowed and walked over to Mike's customary "flip corner." Yet another wonderful thing about being Mikey. He had the best back flips of anyone of them from many hours of practice.


	8. Chapter 8

_(Thanks to all my reviewers. Those are as good as gold. Thanks as always to Cyn and I credit Leo's talents with a toaster to her. Read her fics! They're full of yummy goodness!)_

Practice was winding down for the morning and Raphael watched as Leonardo and Donatello sparred their last match. It was interesting watching the two using weapons that weren't their specialties. Of course, they had a better than basic knowledge of all weapons, but even still, the rustiness was showing. Especially since both Leo and Don looked more comfortable fighting hand to hand, even with weapons. More kicks were thrown than normally would be and neither tried to disarm the other. Raphael could see a lot of weapons cross-training in their future.

Splinter clapped his hands. "Yame!" he called hoarsely and his sons stepped away from each other trying to catch their breath.

The turtles lined up to end practice as they did to begin it and Splinter made and observation that it appeared they needed more work with weapons other than their specialties.

_Damn I'm good_, Raphael thought studying the bo in his hand with something close to disgust.

Surprisingly, Splinter skipped their customary meditation and gave them the rest of the day off.

"I know some of you have a great deal to accomplish today,. Do not forget to add the bathroom door to your lists." he commented with a smirk and dismissed them.

Michelangelo jumped to his feet, grinning. "YES! A day off! Anyone up to challenging the leader to Street Fighter?"

Leonardo smiled. "Oh, I think you forgot, Mike. You have another hour of training."

The smile that had been on Mike's face evaporated quickly. "Another hour? Why? Did I do something wrong?" He glanced to Splinter for some clue. He'd thought he put in a great practice. One of his best ever. Why would he possibly…?

"It is on your list, Michelangelo. You did not read it?" Splinter was very cautious to keep the smile from his face. He could tell this was going to be an ongoing battle the rest of the day.

Realization slowly dawned on Mike. "I …skimmed it." He sighed. A whole hour more of kata and boring stuff like that. He looked up hopefully. "Anyone wanna stay to spar?" At least that would be more entertaining than doing kata and perfecting different kicking techniques.

Of course the answer was no all around.

"Sorry, Fearless Leader. I have to get breakfast and play Streetfighter." Leo was the first to leave the dojo for the first time in his life.

"Got shi...stuff to fix," Raph mumbled. "Or blow up. Whatever comes first." He pointedly ignored Don's look as he followed Leo.

Mike looked at Don hopefully. "Donnie?"

Don shook his head trying not imagine his precious lab going up in smoke. "Got to…" He trailed off. He had pretty much committed Raph's list to memory. There wasn't much on there other than the extra chores. "Got to find something to get annoyed with." He shrugged and followed after his brothers.

Mike turned to his last hope. "Sensei?" Sparring with Splinter was, of course, an automatic loss, but even still, it was better than being alone and bored.

"I would, My son," Splinter began. "But I know how you enjoy these private practice sessions. I would not wish to intrude." He too went out the door. "Donatello, one moment please."

Don froze and turned slowly. "Yes sensei?" He knew damn well what Splinter wanted to talk to him about. He and his brothers could not resist smiling every time they saw the message on Mike's back. Even Raph couldn't help finding the "slogan of the day" amusing.

Splinter's carefully prepared "father" look was planted firmly on his face disguising any possible amusement. "You will, of course, remove that from your brother's shell as soon as he is through with practice."

Don nodded. "Hai, Sensei." He turned to walk away but was called back by Splinter continuing.

"And the next time you feel the need to practice some sort of billboard writing, you will choose a more appropriate surface, and less profane language."

"Hai, Sensei." He could feel the blush coming to his face at the subtle scolding. "Is that all?" He actually meant, "do I get some kinda punishment" but he could see how his question could be considered somewhat disrespectful. He tried to back track. "I mean.."

His sensei shook his head finally showing his smile. "Yes, Donatello. That is all. I am sure you are anxious to start on your chores." He past his son and went into his room. The door closed with a faint click.

Leonardo was thankful that during the week, breakfast wasn't a family thing. Everyone got their own as they got up. That saved him from having to cook. He knew he wasn't off the hook with lunch though. Mike's list had included cooking both lunch and dinner. Leo searched the cabinets hoping for something quick and easy that he wouldn't be in danger of burning down the kitchen.

It felt odd having a morning to himself. He could catch up on his reading, or even watch a little television. What he really wanted to do, was check up on Mikey. There were a lot of things that his little brother had to do today. Some things that were pretty important.

"What're you looking for?" Raphael asked walking in and grabbing a soda from the fridge.

Leo sighed slightly. "I was just wondering what to cook for lunch. Think everyone would be alright with peanut butter and jelly?"

Raphael smirked reaching around Leo to get the cereal. "Long as you don't try to toast the bread. We ran outta fire extinguishers years ago."

"I never set it on fire," Leo said defensively. "It just smoked a lot." He makes a mental note to not toast the bread. "And…tomato soup." He should be able to manage that without burning it. "That should take care of lunch. I'll worry about dinner later."

Leo set the teapot on the stove to start the water and turned the knob. Nothing. He frowned and turned the knob again. Still nothing. "Hmm…something's wrong with this thing."

Raphael looked up from his Cherrios. "What?"

"When I turn the knob, nothing happens. Maybe the stove's broken." He tried turning the knob again and waited for the fire to appear on the burner. "Nothing."

With a groan, Raph got to his feet. "Dammit, Leo. Did you break the thing already? It was working fine last night."

"I didn't do anything but try to turn it on," Leo snapped. "I can boil water, you know, Raphael. The fire just won't come on." He was silent for a moment. "Maybe the pilot's out. That's happened a few times."

Raphael frowned. "How the hell do you fix that?" He growled a little in frustration. This was Donny territory. The same Donny who was at this moment doing his chores and not being Mr Fix It. The same Donny who had put big red X's through things not associated with light bulbs.

Leo blinked at his brother. "You don't KNOW?"

"How the hell would I know, Leo? Look, I'm pretty sure all we gotta do is re-light the damn thing. Simple." He sounded more confident than he felt.

**Gas + Fire results in a big BOOM**

That was one kitchen concept Leo understood. "I'll ask Donnie."

"We don't need to ask Donnie. I can figure it out. I ain't fuckin' stupid." He opened the top part of the stove and studied the wires and other doohickeys that he didn't understand.

"Need a match," he said glancing around. He was sure he found where to light the burner. The big sign that said "pilot light" helped a lot. "Or a lighter."

Instead of helping Raph in his attempts to be a pyro, Leo sniffed the air. "I smell gas Raphael."

"Wasn't me," Raph mumbled and went to the drawer where they kept such things for lighting candles.

Leonardo rolled his eyes. "I'm serious, Raphael. I smell gas. Don't light the match."

Raphael sighed. "I don't smell anything, Leo. Look, it says where to light the pilot. I'm following the directions. No problems. "

"Except a huge explosion if you're wrong," Leo shot back.

Raphael gave him a look. "I'm not wrong." He struck the match


	9. Chapter 9

_Thanks everyone! I am having a real blast writing this fic. I haven't had such fun in a very long time. All of your comments are much appreciated. I have vowed to pop a champagne cork when I reach 100 reviews_

_**He was wrong.**_

_**The match struck and the flame combined with the gas that was permeating the room caused the most blinding and destructive of explosions. The fire traveled from the kitchen through the lair until everything was engulfed in flames.**_

_**Leonardo saw his family go up in smoke….**_

_**I KNEW it, he thought. I KNEW Raph was wrong!**_

…all of this ran through Leonardo's imagination just before a furry hand pinched the still sparking flame out on the match.

Raphael blinked and turned. "..the hell? Sensei?"

Splinter breathed a sigh of relief that potential disaster had been averted. You would think that with all the close calls that have occurred with four rambunctious boys over the years, he would be used to it. But even still, the rat had to will his heart beat to slow down before it threatened to burst from his chest. He was just thankful that his keen sense of smell had detected the gas.

"What are you doing?" he asked calmly and trying to keep the tremor from his voice.

Leo looked from Raph to Splinter. "The pilot light on the stove is out and we were trying to…light it?"

Splinter nodded. "I see. However…" He reached around Leonardo and turned the knob on the stove top off. The same knob that Leonardo had turned when trying to light the burner, and forgot to turn off.

"This releases gas into the room. You must wait until it dissipates before trying to light the pilot now." He carefully took the matchbook from Raphael's hand and put it back in the drawer.

Leonardo sighed and scowled at Raph. "I thought I smelled gas."

"Shut up, Leo. You're the dumbass that left the knob on," Raphael countered.

"Fortunately," Splinter continued ignoring their argument. "There is not a great deal of it in here. If we run a fan, it will help to clear it out. At times like this, I wish we had a window to the outside."

Leo looked hopeful. Maybe this would get him out of having to cook.

Splinter dashed Leo's hopes like cold water on a…well…a fire. "It should be fine before lunch. Raphael, I would like a word with you, please." He turned and went to his room knowing his son would follow.

Leo shook his head and resigned himself to no tea for the morning. He considered what else was on Mike's list. Soon after practice was something about annoying Raphael. Well he couldn't do that since Raph was in "conference" with Splinter. He COULD annoy Donatello somehow. The only question was…how?

The eldest turtle sat down at the table and contemplated. Someone like Mike could be an annoyance without even trying. Leo figured he would have to put some thought into it and Don wasn't that easy to annoy. Especially since right now he had no access to his lab. He glanced into the living room and saw that Don was dragging in cleaning supplies. He thought that was pretty odd. Chores didn't have to be done until just before dinner time, and he couldn't see Don being in a hurry to get to them.

He thought for a moment and then got to his feet. He was new at this. He could start with something simple and then work his way up. At the very least, Don could pretend to be ignored, so Leo could check that off the list. He nodded to himself thinking that was a good plan and walked into the living room.

Donatello was bent over the coffee table, dusting it. He looked up when Leo approached, but didn't think anything of it. In fact, he pointedly ignored his brother who leaned forward against the couch watching him.

After about two minutes of being stared at, Don sighed. "What, Leo?"

Leo smiled. "Nothing."

Don turned to dust the entertainment center. He could feel Leo's eyes boring into his shell. He exhaled, but didn't look at him. "What Leo?"

"You missed a spot." Leonardo pointed to the coffee table which now had a thick layer of dirt smudged across one corner.

"I did what?" Donatello turned and blinked. "You did that."

Leo shrugged. "I've been standing here. Just doing what Mike's list said."

"Sure." Don shook his head and wiped the smudge from the coffee table before returning to the entertainment center. Luckily they didn't have much to dust. This was a mind numbing chore.

"Missed another spot," Leo commented still leaning forward against the back of the couch.

Don spun and saw the exact same smudge across the exact same corner of the coffee table. "Leo, go be Mike somewhere else." He wiped the corner again and stared at Leo, daring him to put more dirt back on the table. He thought his older brother was taking this whole thing a bit too seriously. It was like Leo had been just waiting for an excuse to act like a jackass.

Leo just smiled innocently. "What? Donnie, I'm just standing here. I mean, just because I have to do what Mike does today, doesn't mean I have to ACT like Mike. You're not throwing things and swearing a blue streak are you?"

"Not yet," Don muttered and went to get the broom from their supply closet. He returned moments later only to see the SAME dirt smeared across the SAME corner of the table and Leo was nowhere in sight.

Don growled quietly to himself. "Now I know why Raph beats the crap out of Mike all the time."

He wiped the dirt from the table yet again and went about the task of sweeping. There was evidence of a Mike and Raph food fight. Under the couch was a small pile of popcorn and chips that he swept into the dust pan. Sighing, but finishing sweeping, he went to put everything away.

Dirt. Across the ENTIRE coffee table. Not just a corner.

"LEO!"

Hearing his brother shout his name gave Leonardo a chuckle. That had been more fun than he had thought it would be. With Raphael still with Splinter, Leo went to the dojo to see how Mike was doing. He made a silent bet with himself that his brother was sleeping on the soft mats.

Leo peeked into the dojo and was surprised. Mike wasn't doing kata but he was working out on the heavy bags. Three of them as a matter of fact circled up around him. Leo stopped to watch Mike's technique. He was impressed. When his brother put his mind to it, he was very skilled.

Mike stopped attacking the bags and smiled. "Well, what do you think?"

For a moment, Leo was startled. He thought Mike had somehow knew he was standing there. He went to answer, but Michelangelo beat him to it.

In a voice that was supposed to be Raph's. "Bro, you are the best. You just whupped my butt a dozen times in a row." The accent wasn't quite right, and it wasn't deep enough, but that was definitely Raph.

"Don't worry, Raph," Mike, the leader, said. "If you keep practicing, you'll be almost as good as me someday."

Mike turned to another bag and in a voice Leo recognized as his Don's, "Mikey, I am SO glad I didn't have to fight you in the Battle Nexus. I would have lost for sure."

Again, the leader Mikey smiled benevolently. "I know Donnie, I know. But we can't ALL be the best fighter in the multi-verse. And look on the bright side, at least you and Raph had the nerve to spar with me here now. Leo ran his first chance."

Leo frowned. IF he had supposedly ran, then who was the third bag?

"Michelangelo, my son," Mike spoke up for the third target.

Leo groaned quietly and shook his head.

"I think you should be the one to teach your brothers. I am sure you could help Leonardo to be a better leader. I just wish you would take the job yourself."

Mike sighed sadly and shook his head. "Sensei, we've been through this. If I were to take Leo's place, he would be crushed. I just can't do that to my brother. No matter how better of a leader I would be."

Leo frowned. If there was one thing certain, before this day was out, Michelangelo would get a very big dose of humility. If he let this go, there would be no living with his brother ever again.


	10. Chapter 10

_Never fear, I have not given up on this fic, nor has writer's block struck me. I have merely gone back to work and can't update as often as I was. But as long as people are being amused…(and that includes myself)…I will keep on writing this one._ _pops champagne cork and passes it around to all those of legal age _

As a child, Raphael had always been more comfortable in his father's room. The old rocking chair in the corner and the soft futon bed, were both memories of safety and love. But Raphael could never find it in his heart to tell his sensei just how much he HATED the scent of the jasmine incense he burned.

So it was, that he sat with Splinter in his room, trying not to puke at the smell. He sighed and watched Sensei light a few candles. While Splinter's room did have a lamp, his sensei seemed to prefer the light from the flame. Raphael always thought it had something to do with his father's sensitive eyes. Rats tended to move in the darkness. Maybe the light hurt Splinter's eyes.

"There are things that we discussed yesterday, Raphael, when you had refused this exercise," Splinter began sitting across from his son.

Raphael exhaled slowly. His muscles unknotted and he realized that he had been bracing himself for a scolding on the near miss in the kitchen. In his mind's eye he could hear his sensei shouting …

**_"How many times have I TOLD you…You are not to blow up the lair?"_**

Although to be quite honest, that was one lecture Raphael could never remember hearing. Donnie, maybe, but not him.

"Obviously, you did not listen," the master continued. "Or you did not believe me. I still detect much doubt in you."

Raphael debated whether to answer or not. Finally he said, "I listened."

"Then you do not believe me." Splinter sighed. "Raphael…"

"Do I gotta catch something on fire before you realize?" Raphael interrupted somewhat heatedly. "I ain't Donnie. I ain't as smart as Donnie. Leo or Mike, that I could do. But Don? I just know know all the technical shit."

For a wonder, his sensei let the language, and the interrupting slide. "As I told you last night, Raphael. Not one of my sons is smarter than the other." _You need not blow up the lair to prove it._

_Bullshit_, Raphael thought, but didn't say it out loud. No sense in pushing his luck. He just shook his head. "Look, I can't read a book in ten minutes. Or put together a computer from spare parts."

"And who is to say these things are a measure of how smart you are? There is more to intelligence than book learning, My Son." Splinter had tried explaining this to Raphael the day before. His son's brief rebellion against the exercise had come from a desire to not appear stupid in Donatello's shadow. It was a legitimate complaint and one that Splinter took seriously.

He had assured Raphael that he was not being set up to appear foolish. He had to only try. Still under protest, Raphael agreed to the challenge, but the master could tell that his son still had doubts. It was quite apparent to the rat, that his son was trying...perhaps a bit too hard. He did not wish anyone injured with Raphael's attempts to be like Donatello. He only wanted for his son to realize that he was as intelligent as his brother. In a different way.

Raphael frowned. "The only thing Donnie wants me to do today is change light bulbs. How's that for a way to measure smarts?"

Splinter was quiet for a moment. "You can do things that Donatello cannot, Raphael," he said. "You instincts serve you very well, My Son. You can be a very good judge of people and situations. Take Mr Jones for example. Your insight into his character gave us a very good ally."

Raphael shook his head slightly. "That's different." There was no heat behind the answer and he didn't sound as certain as he once had.

His sensei smiled warmly. "Yes, it is a different area of your brain you are using. But it is still your brain." He was glad to see his son was beginning to understand.

"Donnie mentioned something 'bout the security system," Raphael began slowly. "I don't know all that high tech stuff, but maybe…" He shrugged. "Least it sounds interesting."

"Then it appears you have something to occupy your time. Along with all of the light bulbs."

"Yeh." Raph stood and bowed feeling a little better about the whole situation. If he could get Mike's radio fixed and the bathroom door, then he should have some time to think about the lair's security system. Maybe he can ask Don to explain what he's got so far…In English, not "techno-speak Donnie babble." He went to leave and thought of something. He turned to his sensei.

"Master, if none of us are smarter than the other…how do you explain Mike?" There was a teasing tone to Raphael's voice and he couldn't wait to hear what Splinter came up with for this one.

"That is quite easy, My Son," Splinter said simply. "It is as much a mystery as the life after this one and one I do not try to explain. Just…" He faltered for a moment. "…just take my word for it."

Abandoning the rest of the chores for the time being, Don went to the dojo. Mike's extra hour was nearly up and he figured there would be no better moment to try to scrub his message off.  
When he arrived at the dojo, Mike was putting back the heavy bags that he had obviously been working out with. Don was surprised to see the thin layer of sweat on his brother's forehead.

"Hey Donnie," Mike greeted. "What can I, your great and wonderful Leader, do for you? Need some advice? Brothers giving you problems? Are we under attack?"

"No Mike," Don said rolling his eyes. "It's actually something I can do for you."

Mike grinned. "For me? Aw Don, you're the best. Hold on, let me get dried off then you can rub my feet." He grabbed his towel from the bench in the corner and dried his face.

"Rub your..?" Don made a face trying not to gag at the suggestion. "No way in hell."

Mike held up his foot and wiggled his toes in Don's face. "Cmon Don-San. Don't you know how important it is to suck up to the leader?" He spun when Don pushed his foot out of the way and caught himself before he fell.

"I don't rub Leo's feet, and I am not rubbing yours," he said frowning.

Mike laughed. "Ohhh I think I detect a bit of a Brooklyn accent, Raphatello." He coughed and got a serious look on his face. "So, what is it you want to do for me?"

Don's eyes narrowed and for a brief moment, he considered saying "never mind" and leaving his brother to be a walking poster for the day. That's what Raph would do. However, the nice brother in him won out.

"Come with me. I gotta show you something."

Leonardo tapped his fingers on his desk. He needed to come up with some way to help teach his brother a little lesson. He had thought that his long list of things to do, would help Mike understand that being leader was not all fun and games. But if anything else, Mike was turning being leader into one great big game.

He wouldn't be able to do it on his own. That was for sure. Maybe with Raph's help…no. With Don's help. No one drove him crazy like Raphael. No one tested his "leader" abilities like Raphael. And with Don being Raph for the day….

YES!

It was perfect. Now he had to get Donnie to agree to the little life lesson.


	11. Chapter 11

_Words in italics denote thought, not spoken words. Sorry if I didn't make that clear from the beginning. Thanks to everyone again for all comments!_ _Beware Raph's potty mouth!_

Michelangelo tried to prove just how flexible a turtle's neck can be. He stood precariously balanced on two rolls of toilet paper (double ply) trying to look at his shell in the mirror above the sink. So far he could make out the words…."Fuck" and "Raph"

Mike strained a little more trying to read. His face had an odd shade of green, as if he were about to be sick. He turned to the other turtle in the bathroom. "Don, if that mentions something even close to incest, I'm gonna use a magnet on your computer again."

Donatello looked visibly ill at what Mike was implying; both the magnetized computer and the thought of incest made him nauseous. "God, no, Mikey. It just says.." He cleared his throat a little looking a tad embarrassed. Writing it was one thing, speaking it was another. "…just says…'fuck off, Raphael'."

Mike blinked and looked at him. His face brightened a little. "Really?" He paused. "Why?"

Don sighed. "It seemed the thing to do at the time. Let's just say, I satisfied Raphael's two main requirements in one shot."

Mike seemed to accept that answer and jumped down from his improvised step stool. "So, how long do I get to tell Raph off?" He gave Don a small smile. If there was one thing Mike could appreciate it was a practical joke. With the sign on his back, he could tell his older brother off repeatedly and not get in trouble. This was his kind of joke.

Don returned the smile gratefully. "Sensei said to help you wash it. It was permanent marker, so uh…it may be there until tomorrow."

Mike got a washcloth from the small cabinet in the corner. "It'll wear off by tomorrow?"

"No, but I have some stuff in my lab that will remove it easier. And…" Don thought for a moment. "..it should leave your shell mostly in tact." He grinned at Mike's startled look. "Just kidding, Mikey."

Mike handed Don the cloth. "Uh huh." He smiled. "Well…guess you aren't rubbing my feet, but you are scrubbing my back. Some perks to being the leader. Should make you do a million flips for this." He grinned at Don's startled look. "Just kidding, Donnie."

Don growled slightly as he wet the washcloth and started scrubbing at Mike's shell.

"I think maybe fifty flips will be enough for you to learn your lesson," Mike continued, tapping his chin in thought. "Maybe some extra chore…hey! OW! Not so hard!"

"Definitely not what I want to hear you tell Donnie, Mike. Good thing the door isn't closed." Raphael commented dryly leaning against the doorway. "Someone might just take that the wrong way."

Don blushed a little but Mike just waved off Raph's comment and gave his brother a wry grin. "Read the shell Raph."

No matter who he was supposed to be at the moment, Donatello knew that Raphael's hair trigger temper was set off more easily by Mike than anyone else. Hoping to avoid the inevitable explosion, he interrupted their taunting of each other. "Raph, do you need the bathroom?"

Raphael shook his head. "Nope. Gotta fix the door that Leo kicked down."

Don stopped scrubbing and turned seeing Raphael with his beloved toolbox. "Those are my tools!"

"Hey, you're not done scrubbing yet, slave boy!" Mike reminded him. But Donatello ignored him. All he could see were his "babies" in the hands of an inexperienced "parent."

"Whadya want me to use, Donnie? Scotch tape and staples?" Raph set the toolbox down none too gently on the floor. Don winced when he heard precious instruments being knocked together inside.

"I'll fix it tomorrow," Don promised dropping the washcloth to rescue his tools.

Raph stepped in his way. "Splinter wants it done today."

"Like that's ever mattered before," Don countered trying to step around Raph. He'd spent years and years collecting those tools. He'd used his saved up money and spent hours combing through junkyards. He just couldn't let anyone use them but him. It was a matter of principle. They were his!

Raphael blocked his way again. "Yeh but I'm you today. And I gotta be the do-gooder." he smirked. "I promise I won't break more than half of your tools."

Don's eyes widened but before he could say anything, Mike stepped in between them. "Now come on guys. There's no need to fight. Raph can get to fixin the door. Donnie, you got scrubbing to do." He handed Don the washcloth and gave him his trademark charismatic smile.

Don tossed it right back in his face. "Go to hell, Mike." He pushed past Raph and went out the door. He'd left his toolbox behind to fend for itself. He could only hope that he wouldn't regret it.

Mike scratched the back of his head watching Don go down the hallway. "That could've went better."

Raph grinned. "The boy's learnin. C'mon, Mikey. Help me with this door."

Mike hesitated. "That sounds like work for underlings. Not us leader types."

Raphael glared at him.

"Of course," Mike said with a smile. "Never let it be said that I'll ask my people to do what I wouldn't do." He reached down and helped Raph put the door up to the hinges.

Raphael examined the door closely. "Don't look like it's really bad.. Gotta fix the hinges. Simple. Hold the door steady, Mike." He picked up the hammer, a nail and started to work. He held back the small smile. This he could do.

Donatello stormed down the hall mumbling to himself. "If one of my tools so much has a scratch on it, his CD collection is history. Bad enough I gotta do his chores…." His ranting was cut off by a hand grabbing his arm and dragging him into Leo's room. He yelped quietly before he turned and saw his oldest brother.

He groaned. "Please, Leo. No more Mikey-ing. I'm not in the mood."

Leo smiled slightly and closed the door of his room. "Sorry about that, Don. At the time…"

"It seemed the thing to do," Don sighed. "Yeh I know. So, if you're not going to torment me, then what do you need?"

"I need your help." He gave Don the quick version of what he saw during Mike's little training session in the dojo. "So, I think Little Brother Leader needs a lesson in humility."

Don folded his arms. "After what you did to me, why should I help you?" Unfortunately, Donatello didn't find Mike's skit as offensive as Leonardo had. Mike had done far worse in his opinion in the past. Although the whole **Battle Nexus Champion** thing was getting more than old.

"He's not getting on your nerves? Even a little?" Leo wondered if he was the only one Mike was trying hard to annoy.

Don thought for a minute. _Rub my feet. Rub my shell. Slaveboy. A million flips. Extra chores_.

"What do you want me to do?"

Leo chuckled and outlined his plan. The more he told his brother, the less enthusiastic Don seemed to be.

"Leo, why does it seem like I'm doing most of the work and taking the most risks?"

Leo shook his head. "Look at it this way Donnie…."

Before he could finish his sentence there was a loud yell followed by much cursing. They both ran out the door into the hallway.

"You cut off my THUMB!" They could hear Mikey's howl of pain from down the corridor.

And they could also hearRaphael's retort. "Well it was in my fuckin' way!"


	12. Chapter 12

_For some reason, this chapter became the Mike and Raph banter hour. Not sure why. But it was fun to write. Thanks always to those who review and Cyn in particular who bugs me almost as much as I bug her._

Somehow, Splinter managed to arrive before his sons down the hall and to the bathroom to see what the shouting was all about. By the time Leonardo and Donatello got there, the sensei was trying to track down the bleeding and hopping around Michelangelo.

"I told you to move it to the left!" Raph said.

"You didn't say MY left or YOURS!" Mike shouted still jumping around trying to stop the pain in his hand.

"We were facing the same fuckin direction!"

With Mike's yelling and Raphael's replying, it was difficult for anyone to hear the rat speak. He needed to see the amount of damage done. His eyes had already quickly scanned the area for a missing digit. Finding none, he hopefully assumed Michelangelo had been exagerrating.

"Michelangelo! Stop moving and show me your injury!" He finally raised his voice which caused all movement to stop. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves and approached his son to assess the damage. His heart did the strange skip beating it always did when one of his sons was hurt.

Mike had his injured hand gripped firmly in the other and he reluctantly released it to show his father.

Donatello side stepped to get a look and rolled his eyes. "Mike, you were screaming that Raph cut your thumb off."

Mike hissed at Splinter's gentle examination. "Well, it FELT like it."

"Wuss," Don and Raph mumbled together.

Splinter gave them all a look that demanded silence and turned Mike's hand inspecting the injury. A nail that Raphael had been hammering must have somehow slipped and grazed Mike's thumb. It was bleeding and a small piece of skin was missing. But it was nowhere near the damage that Splinter had feared when he first heard the yelling.

The ninja master got a clean towel from the closet and wrapped Mike's thumb tightly.

"I don't need stitches do I?" Mike asked warily. For some reason, injuries in battle never hurt quite as much as accidents around the house. Maybe because of the adrenaline. Or maybe because you were concentrated more on not getting killed by the swords slicing through you, than on the pain they caused.

Splinter gave his son a smile and shook his head. "No, Michelangelo. The wound is superficial. We will clean and bandage it and it will heal well on its on. Or rather, Raphael will clean and bandage it."

"Me?" Raphael said.

"Raph?" Mike echoed, looking even more nervous now. "What about you? Or Donnie?"

"Raphael is quite capable of cleaning and dressing a wound, Michelangelo," Splinter told him calmly. "And this is his duty for the day."

"Yeh but his bedside manner sucks!" Mike wasn't quite as calm. "The last time he bandaged a cut on my face, he wrapped my mouth too."

"Had to make sure I bandaged the whole wound," Raph defended.

"It was on my forehead!" Mike countered wincing as Splinter applied more pressure to his thumb.

"Quietest night of our lives," Leo muttered to himself.

Splinter sighed. "Enough, Michelangelo. Raphael will do an adequate job, I am sure." He took Mike's free hand and wrapped it around the cloth. "Keep pressure on it to stop the bleeding."

Raph sighed dropping the hammer to the floor (Don winced) and dragged the protesting Mike into their medical infirmary.

Don kneeled down beside the bathroom door to collect his tools, intent on hiding them before Raphael returned.

"Donatello," Splinter said with a warning tone.

Don sighed and got to his feet once again leaving his tools for the hands of an amateur fix-it man. Nodding, Splinter retreated to the kitchen for a cup of hot tea. He could no longer detect the odor of gas in the room. _He _would light the pilot before one of his sons burned down their home with another attempt at it.

Even through the closed door of the infirmary, the two turtles in the hall could hear shouting.

"Hold still, Mike. I'm gonna spill this shit everywhere."

"Not the iodine! NO! Not the peroxide! Not BOTH! OW!"

"Shut up, Mike. You don't know what's on them nails. Donnie coulda been experimenting with germ warfare for all we know. And I ain't getting yelled at for you dying."

"Hate to think that MY dying would inconvenience you so much. OW!"

Leo shook his head ignoring Mike's continued "ows" and looked to his brother. "You alright, Donnie?"

Don ran one hand down the doorway thinking of how he would fix it. He blinked and looked over at Leo. "Yeh. I'm fine." He brushed off his hands and stepped away from the bathroom. "So, about this plan of yours…I don't think so. I don't see how getting into a fight with Mike and leaving the lair is going to show him anything."

Leo glanced around quickly, well aware of how acute his sensei's hearing was. He pulled Don into the dojo and closed the door. Don sighed and folded his arms.

"Mike thinks being leader is all about telling people what to do," Leo said. "He doesn't realize that I'm responsible for all of you. Raph constantly ignores that little fact every time he disappears on one of his little solo adventures. If you hide out for a little while and Mike can't find you…he might see it's not all fun and games."

"Yeh and Splinter pounces on me as soon as I walk in the door," Don said. "No thanks."

Leo shook his head. "No Donnie. I know Mike. He won't even tell Splinter. He won't want to look incompetent. We'll go looking for you. We won't find you, and Mike gets a dose of leadership reality."

"Why don't YOU hide out?" Don asked. There were just too many ways this could backfire on him. He wasn't willing to risk it so that Leo could teach Mike a lesson. No matter how much Mike annoyed him.

Leo smiled. "I'm not the rebel for the day."

Don opened the door. "Well this rebel is staying out of trouble. Find some other way." He walked into the hallway smiling faintly. He had actually said no. Turned down a request. That felt good.

He had to jump back as Mike slammed out of the infirmary. His thumb was sticking up in the air wrapped with about five gauze layers too many. He glared over his shoulder. "Next time you need a shot, I hope Don uses a dull needle."

"Next time I'll hit you in the head," Raph shot back while cleaning up his first aid mess. "Least it's not something you'll ever use!"

"Yeh well in that case, someone should use a hammer on your…oh…hey Donnie." Mike realized that he nearly ran over his brother in his hurried attempt to get away from Raphael.

Don smiled. "Mike, you look like your hitchhiking."

Mike shook his head. "Blame Raph. He doesn't know what he's doing. How am I supposed to do leader stuff like this?"

"Mike, you cut your thumb. You didn't amputate your hand. Even then, LEO would still find some way to do his duties."

"Don't you have chores to do?" Mike grumped. Ok, so maybe it wasn't a life threatening injury, but it was still throbbing and it made him a little grouchy.

Leo walked out of the dojo before Don could reply to Mike's reminder. "Hey, Mike. I noticed that some of the weapons need sharpening. You might want to take care of that today."

Mike pretended not to hear. "What's for lunch, Leo? I'm starving."

"Hey, Raph," Don said as his brother walked out of the infirmary. "Don't leave my tools laying out like that. They'll get ruined."

Four brothers looked at each other. Each one had something to do. Something that they didn't really want to do, but they weren't sure how to get out of it. This exercise was becoming more of a hassle by the minute.

"My sons? Is something wrong?"

They all turned to Splinter and stared at him. Each was considering how best to get their sensei to call off this assignment. Splinter in turn stared at each of them. His gaze told them their protests were best left unsaid.

He chuckled quietly to himself as they all muttered about "something to do" and walked off in different directions. It wasn't quite noon yet, but the day had already been somewhat productive.


	13. Chapter 13

_((Thanks as always to Cyn for her gentle prodding. LOL. ))_

Lunch was a quiet affair. Fortunately, Leonardo stuck to his original plan. Peanut butter sandwiches with tomato soup. He even threw in some carrots and celery sticks for good measure. Nutritional. Unburned. Safe.

_Dry_, Mike thought. _Bland. Boring_. He dipped his sandwich into the soup to give himself a break from the desert that was his mouth. He had to give Leo credit. The boy knew his limitations and cooking was one of them.

Leo watched his family a bit anxiously. "Well? How is everything?" He'd heated up the soup himself, a fact he was damn proud of. For some reason, kitchen appliances did not like him. Toast came out burned. Anything heated on the stove had a layer of film on it that you had to peel off. Once, pizza that he had been heating up in the microwave exploded and covered the entire inside with cheese and sauce. It had taken forever to clean up.

"The meal is very…." Splinter searched for the words. "Very nutritionally sound, Leonardo." He rather enjoyed the raw vegetables. But he wished there was some sort of sauce to dip them in….other than peanut butter.

"Yeh, Leo," Mike chimed in. "At least with boring food, you can't poison us. But maybe for dinner, we can have something with taste."

Leo glared at Mike, but he didn't have much to say to that. He knew he had played it safe. Maybe for dinner, he could try something a little more adventurous. Maybe cook some kind of meat.

Raphael polished off his third glass of water to wash down the sandwich. Tomato soup wasn't on his high list of favorites, but he figured he'd grab some chips later. "Yeh, great Leo." He got to his feet. "But we did have jelly you know."

"No," Leo mumbled. "I dropped the jar and broke it." He ignored the chuckles from his family at his expense. There were so many things he could do almost to perfection. But even with being a skilled ninja, he felt downright clumsy in a kitchen and he couldn't explain it.

"I'm gonna go check on the outer perimeter alarms," Raphael announced gathering his dishes.

Don looked up. He had been concentrating very heavily on eating without choking. The food was edible, but the peanut butter and bread was cloying in his mouth if he didn't drink something to wash it down. "What's wrong with the alarms?"

"Nothing. But, I saw you wanted to add some improvements, so I was gonna see what I could do." He put his plate in the sink.

"Maybe I should go with you," Don volunteered getting to his feet with his dishes. "Those things can be touchy and go off if you're not careful."

Raphael shook his head. "Nah, I got it. 'Sides, you got chores to do right? Dishes?" He barely hid the smirk on his face. "I'll be back in a bit."

"Be careful," Splinter said. "And do not be gone too long."

"Look both ways before you cross the street," Mike warned.

He didn't bother correcting Raph's language when his brother rolled his eyes and mumbled something about Mike being a "dumbass." A good leader had to let some things go and not sweat the small stuff.

The dishes clattered in the sink, for a miracle not breaking from the way Don tossed them in exasperation. He glanced up, noticing the lack of noise in the kitchen. He saw his brothers staring at him in confusion and Splinter giving him a sort of "you're pushing your luck" warning look.

"It slipped," he said offering a believable, if completely false, explanation. Splinter gave him a look like he didn't really believe him, but he let the excuse lie and went to do a little training himself while his sons were occupied.

Mike got to his feet and set his dishes on the counter beside the sink. He gave Donatello a chiding look. "Now Donnie…" He was setting himself up to give a Leo-like lecture. One that would stand the test of time, maybe even be written down to use through the years. One that would cut through the haze of frustration in his brother's heart and leave him feeling…

"Shut up, Mike," Don cut his brother off. He wasn't feeling very receptive to any lectures. Especially one from his younger brother.

Mike wagged a scolding finger at Don. "Tut, tut, Donnie-boy. If you can fix something like the Battle Shell, then you can certainly fix this little attitudinal problem you have."

Don frowned at Mike. "I know one problem that can be fixed with a few stitches around your mouth."

Leonardo watched the exchange with a sort of morbid fascination. He wondered briefly if this was how he and Raphael looked every time they exchanged words. He shook his head in answer to his own question. Donnie didn't look nearly pissed off enough and Mike was enjoying himself a bit too much. He didn't see any of the frustration on Mike's face that he always felt while dealing with Raphael.

Mike folded his arms. This wasn't going exactly how he envisioned it would. Don wasn't supposed to be so…so…Raph-ish.

"I think someone needs a timeout," Mike declared.

It took all of Don's self control to not scream. He calmly tossed the rag he had been using to wash dishes into the sink and stormed out of the kitchen.

"Hey!" Mike followed him. "You didn't finish the dishes." He was surprised to find Don putting on his topside clothes. "Where are you going?"

"Out," Donatello decided putting on his hat. He wrapped a scarf around his face to better conceal himself.

Mike shook his head. "You can't go out. It's broad daylight. Too dangerous." He knew that he was on very solid ground with that piece of advice. Splinter didn't want them topside during the day. It was hard to be invisible under the glare of the sun.

"I'll take my chances," Don said pulling on a pair of boots. He glanced over to Leo who was watching from the kitchen. He could read his oldest brother's face pretty well. "I'll be careful." He said for Leo's benefit more than Mike's.

But the temporary leader was not to be swayed. He considered it his civil duty to be as much a pain in the ass as Leo always was. "Don, if you go out, you could get hurt." His tone reflected genuine concern, not the arrogant and patronizing voice he was using earlier.

Don matched Mike's sincere and serious tone. He even put one hand on his little brother's shoulder. "Mike, if I stay here, you WILL get hurt." With that said, he left the lair not looking back.

He left Mike standing there with his mouth wide open. "He left." He was so stunned he didn't notice Leo walking over to him.

"Yes, he left." He reached over and closed Mike's mouth.

Mike turned to Leo, his face registering shock and awe. "What do I do?"

Leo fell silent and he appeared deep in thought. "Well…if I were you…" He smiled slightly. "Which I am. I know what I'd do."

"What?" Mike thought he was kind of out of his element here. He never imagined that one of his "men" would desert like this. What kind of leader had his followers going AWOL within the first few hours of command.

Leo chuckled. "I'm going to play Street Fighter." He jumped over the couch and grabbed the controller. "Wanna play?"


	14. Chapter 14

_Thank you Cyn! You know I love you! Thank you Machi for your encouragement. And thanks for the reviews. I'm still here never fear!_

Raphael studied one of the outer perimeter alarms. He knew that Don had it set up as a motion sensor. If anyone came within several feet of one, an alarm would sound in the dojo alerting them to possible danger. Raph frowned a bit at that. He was more of an action guy. Knowing someone around was all well and good, but, if someone were coming near the lair, he would prefer to do something about it. Quickly. At the very least, give he and his family more of a head start in preparing their defense.

Of course, it had to be subtle. Something that would look naturally occurring. Even if he could rig up some kind of thing that would blast twenty shuriken from the wall when someone stepped too close, that could get messy. Between the rats he would kill and more than likely Mike would forget where to step. Raphael didn't want to be the one to explain to Splinter that his youngest son had been made into swiss cheese from his alarm system. Having a brother with multiple stab wounds would be bad enough. Having to tell Splinter it was his fault…would be much worse.

The turtle sighed and glanced up and around at the tunnel. There had to be something. Even if it gave them only a few seconds to prepare for an incoming assault. He tapped his chin in thought and nodded to himself. It was simplistic…and certainly easy enough to do. He'd have to be subtle about it. He'd need some of Don's supplies. And a few buckets.

Donatello escaped the sewers and made his way into an alley. The shadows kept him hidden well enough that no one would see him unless they were to look real hard. And Don wouldn't give them that chance. Besides, there were very few people actually out and about right now. It was so cold, that the city that never sleeps, was staying bundled up inside. He made his way up the fire escape in the back alley and to the window of April's apartment.

Usually he was with one or more of his brothers on a visit to April's. Mike and Raph had no qualms about barging in, invited or not. He pulled the collar of his coat up and shivered a little.

He started to peek in the window, but pulled back blushing a bit. What if she was changing? What if she was like…doing housework with no clothes on? Didn't people do that? Wouldn't he be a peeping tom if he were to peek in on something like that?

What if she had a male visitor?

Don paled slightly at the thought of spying on something like THAT. He wasn't interested in watching his best friend engage in sexual calisthenics. Not that he'd be interested in watching ANYONE do that sort of thing. He wasn't a pervert and those websites on his computer were purely for research. And another thing….

"Don?"

Don's arguing was interrupted by a female voice just to his right side. He staggered in surprise and caught himself before falling. "Uhhhh April. Hi. Um…nice weather huh?"

April looked at him in confusion. "What are you doing?"

Don glanced around at the alleyway. "Just hanging around. Can I come in for a little while? Maybe help with that software program you've been working on?"

Her smile warmed him and almost made him forget about the craziness at home. "You're always welcome, Donnie. Is something wrong?"

Donatello sighed not sure how to answer that. He didn't want to tell her that they had driven Splinter crazy with their fighting. That wouldn't help him come across as the mature, responsible young man he wanted her to believe he was. "Nothing is wrong per say. I just needed some air. Cold…freezing air."

"Come in Donnie. Casey and I were just watching a movie…."

Don tried not to let his disappointment show. "Casey's here?" It's not that he didn't like Casey. But…

The notorious vigilante stuck his head out the window. "Hey Don. Raph said you'd be by, but I thought it would be later tonight."

"Raph said…I would be…?" Don blinked at Casey in confusion. "When did you talk to Raph? And how did he know I was coming here?" As far as he knew, Raphael had left before he did to check the security systems. His brother didn't even know that Don had gone anywhere.

"Last night," Casey replied after thinking for a second. "Said something about you were gonna go crazy enough today to want to go out bustin up bad guys with me. I wasn't planning on goin' out till later tonight though."

Donatello's eyes squinted a little as he tried to figure that out this latest piece of information. "Why was I going to go crazy?"

Casey shrugged. "Somethin' about you doing all his chores for him cuz he made a deal with Splinter."

"He did, did he?" Don's eyes narrowed. Why was he feeling the butt of a big joke? He just wasn't sure if he should thank Raph…or Splinter.

No one spoke for a few moments, until April broke the uneasy silence. "So, come in Don. It's freezing out here."

Don shook his head. "No thanks, April. I just remembered….I have something to do."

Raphael balanced skillfully on the pipe above his modified security system. He didn't change anything that Don had. He just improved on the design. It was so simplistic. But so completely genius in its simplicity. The motion sensors would still sound the alarm in the lair to announce anyone nearby. But Raphael's modifications would give them an extra few seconds to prepare…it may even turn the intruder away altogether.

Just thinking about his new improvements gave Raph a sense of pride. He could bet Donatello had never thought of something so…ingenious. He put some finishing touches on his contraption and jumped down from the piping just in time to hear someone sloshing through the sewers.

He ducked back into the shadows…and waited.

Donatello muttered to himself. He wasn't really paying attention to anything. He was pretty angry. He was angry at Raphael. He was angry with Mike. And he was angry with Splinter for doing this whole thing in the first place. When he thought of what he could be doing today, all the wasted time, he became even more angry.

He took the tunnel where he figured Raphael would be working on the security system. He could only imagine all the stuff he would have to fix once Raphael got done.

The last thing Raph tried to fix was Mike's Slinky when they were ten. After ten frustrating minutes, he ended up just wrapping it around Mike and attaching him to the bedpost. The Slinky never slunked again. Then there was the Rubix Cube when they were seven. Don made a face remembering how that ended.

He slowed down coming to the section of tunnel where his motions sensors were. He glanced around for a moment. No sign of Raphael. Maybe he gave up and went home.

Don knelt down beside one of his carefully hidden sensors and frowned. There was something wrapped around it. What the hell did Raph do now? Don shook his head and shut down the sensor. He didn't need the alarms going off in the lair.

He picked up the sensor trying to unwind the cord that was wrapped around it. "What the hell?"

"No DON!"

Donatello looked up at Raphael's shout right before he was covered in something cold, wet and terrible smelling. A bucket full of raw sewage emptied on his head from above. The stench was overpowering even for someone raised in the sewers. He dropped the sensor and gagged. "DAMMIT!"

Don rubbed at his eyes barely able to make out the form of his brother coming toward him. He COULD however, make out the smirk on his face.

"Thanks for testin the security system Donnie. By the way, you got shit on yer head."


	15. Chapter 15

((Ok, ok. I could bore you all with the details of my overly complicated and busy life but that would bore me as well. So I will apologize…to everyone for the long wait. Especially a certain someone you know who you are. And the person who sent me the amusing lil review, please tell me who you are. I have my suspicions. But I just need to know)) 

Michelangelo paced in front of the door of the lair. "He should have been back by now. Don't you think?"

His brother seemed completely engrossed in the game. Just one look at Leonardo told anyone watching that he was a novice video game player. Leo tried his hardest to help out his character by punching his hands and kicking his feet. Unfortunately, his efforts were not helping much. He'd already lost ten times.

Mike watched his brother in amazement, as he came halfway off the couch in an attempt to help the computer generated fighter jump. He shook his head. "Leo?"

"Hmm?" Front kick, from both Leo and the video combatant.

"Leo, don't you think Donnie should have been back by now?" Mike asked worriedly.

"Hmm…" Leo replied jumping a few feet in the air but alas his character didn't and was kicked in the teeth.

"I mean, he could be hurt or something. Couldn't he?" Mike glanced to the door. "Laying in a pool of blood and vomit, and…"

"Mmhmm," Leo murmured. He winced as his guy's head was in serious danger of flying across the screen.

Mike turned and frowned at Leo. "Leo, are you listening to me?"

"Hmm.." Came the distracted reply.

"LEO!"

The video game ended in blood and guts flying around. The head of the unfortunate character ended up on the ground. Leo threw his controller and growled. "It cheats."

Mike's eyes widened in disbelief. "You haven't been listening," he accused. "Our brother could be dead or worse!"

In truth, Leonardo was just a tad worried about Don as well. And Raphael for that matter as he wasn't back either. "Don's fine. He probably just went to complain to April"  
The older brother in him was fighting the urge to go search for his brothers.

Mike looked dangerously close to hyperventilating. "He's been captured! I know it! Splinter's gonna be pissed at me!"

Leo glanced over to his brother to see if he was joking. He wasn't. "Mike, if Donnie's been captured…" Spoke slowly as he considered what he was saying. "I think Splinter will….forgive you. Someday?"

Mike studied his brother for a moment to see if he was joking. He was. "LEO! This isn't funny!"

Leo chuckled quietly. His mind was avoiding the thought of something happening to Don and was latching on to Mike's worry that Splinter's first thought would be how pissed he was at Mike. "Sorry, Mike. But any minute now, Don is gonna walk through that door and he'll…"

The door opened and the most awful smell permeated through the lair.

Mike covered his mouth and beak. "Ewww what the hell is that?"

Don stormed in the lair. He looked more brown than green and his face radiated a level of pissed off usually reserved for Raph. He glared at Mike. "DON'T ask."

Leo got to his feet holding his breath against the stench. "Donnie, what happened. You look like…"

"Shit?" Don asked heatedly. "Is that what you were going to say Mr. Funny Man?"

"Actually," Leo said backing away, not because of Don's temper. That was about as frightening as a half drowned kitten. His brother smelled horrible. " I was going to say you look like you need scrubbed down."

"And some serious deodorant," Mike added one hand pinching his beak. "Dude, what'd you do? Take a bath in the sewer sludge?"

"It was more like a shower, Mike," Raph said walking in. His voice and his face both reflected the amusement he was feeling.

"Thanks to you!" Don shot back. "Whoever heard of rigging up a bucket above the piping? That's something a five year old would do!"

Raph folds his arms. "It worked, didn't it"

Before Don could think of a reply to that, Splinter came from his room. His keen sense of smell having detected the stench in his room. With incense burning. While asleep.

"What is the source of this smell?" he wondered his nose wrinkling in disgust.

Three hands shot out and pointed to Don.

Donatello just stood there for a moment. "It wasn't my doing! It was Raph. He was the one who put the raw sewage over the tunnels."

Splinter made a face. "Donatello, please go on and get cleaned up. We can talk about it afterwards."

"Don't forget to wash behind your ears," Mike advised his hand covering his lower face. "And all parts lower."

With an almost furious scowl, Donatello turned his budding temper on Raph. With all that had just happened, he had forgotten why he was mad at his brother in the first place. "Did you tell Casey about some 'arrangement' with Splinter?"

"Donatello," Splinter cut in smoothly before Raphael could answer. "Please go and clean up. The smell is most…overpowering."

"Why did you make me do Raph's chores?" Don demanded, his anger now finding a new target. "That was supposed to be Raphael's punishment." If calm, cool, logical Don were in residence, he might see that this situation was nothing to explode over, but something to talk about rationally. This Don however, was not so cool and collected. He felt like he was being picked on by everyone all day. He was mad as hell and he wasn't gonna take it anymore.

Splinter nods slowly. "Yes it was Raphael's punishment." He studied his son somewhat hopefully. But, there was a part of him remembering of Don's more…colorful temper tantrums as a child. They never ended well. And they were usually brought on by his son being pushed beyond his limits. Like now.

The other three turtles were frozen to their spots watching the show. It was so very rare that any of them argued with Splinter. It was rarer still that the arguer was Donatello. Maybe that was why Splinter didn't end the next tirade with a quick smack of his stick.

"Then why am I doing them?" Don asked angrily. "Are you just trying to piss me off? Is that the point of this whole thing for me? To be Raph with his hair-trigger temper? To live life for no other reason than to be angry?" Don's hands gestured wildly flinging goop onto his brothers, who for a miracle didn't notice right off. They were too shocked at the way Don was speaking to their father. One did not mouth off to Splinter and live to tell about it.

"We will discuss it," Splinter told him calmly. "But first you must clean up. This is a good way for you to become ill, and I do not want that."

But Don was not to be put off so easily. If he was to be Raph today, than dammit, he was going to give it his best shot. "Casey told me…"

His father cut him off. "I SAID, we will discuss it. Alone. Come, you must clean up." He glanced to his sons. "Clean up this room, please. Find some sort of air freshener."

Splinter motioned Don in the direction of the bathroom.

Once they were gone, the remaining turtles looked at each other.

Mike went to get something to clean himself up with. As he wiped off his arms, he smiled at his brothers. "Well my brotherly underlings, get to work. Leo, you can get the floors and walls. Raph, you can do the air freshening. Of course, I'll supervise and make sure…"

"Shut Up, Mike," Raph growled and stomped away.

Mike turned to Leo and before he could utter a word, Leo, in true Mikey fashion ran after Raph. "Hey, Raphael, wait up! I'll help you!"


	16. Chapter 16

((Forgive me yet again for the time between updates. In my defense chicken pox has declared war on our house. So far it has left one of the twins and myself untouched. I am not hopeful of it remaining that way tho. Oh well. Beware of partial nudity ;). If you consider a gearless turtle nude…Thanks as always to Cyn for her understanding, writing talents and gentle and kindproddings.))

Donatello silently seethed the entire way to the bathroom. He had tried to speak twice only to be silenced by his father with a warning gesture.

For his part, Splinter also remained silent. He could understand Donatello's frustration and anger. Indeed, he had hoped to frustrate his young son enough for him to voice his opinion. He had hopes that once Donatello learned to speak in defense of himself, his sons would not so easily manipulate or take advantage of him.

He nudged Don into the bathroom and turned on the shower himself.

"Sensei…" This time Donatello's voice held none of the anger or frustration. Instead it had been replaced with something akin to embarrassment or horrification. "I can shower myself."

Splinter smiled slightly to himself. Without even looking, he could imagine the reddish hue that had now taken control of Don's face. "I have no intention of bathing you, My Son," Splinter said calmly hiding his amusement. "Only to ensure you get this sewage from you. We know from experience that it can cause great illness." He left Don for a few moments and returned with a plastic bag. "You can put the soiled gear in here."

He set the bag on the sink. "I will get you a robe. You look a bit chilled." He disappeared from the bathroom and would have closed the door if his sons had managed to fix it earlier. As it was, Donatello could only be thankful that there were only males living in the lair.

Don stared at the doorway for a moment before stripping off his gear and jumping into the shower. He allowed the warm water to run down over his head. It helped to soothe his anger which again began bubbling to the surface of his mind. He grabbed a washcloth to scrub the nastiness.

"Your towel and robe are hanging on the rack, Donatello." Splinter's voice cut through the soothing water and caused Don to jump a couple of feet in the air and yelp in surprise. He vowed to fix the door first chance he got.

"Thanks, Sensei," he said turning his face into the water. It ran down his shell hopefully washing away more residual ick as well as the residual anger. By nature, Donatello was too even tempered to stay angry. Even with all the injustices he had been suffering, he couldn't bring himself to continue arguing with his father.

He exhaled shaking his head after standing in silence for a few minutes. He cringed slightly remembering the way he spoke to Splinter. "Surprised he didn't lecture me while I was trapped in here," Don mused allowing himself a small smile.

"It seems as though Raphael will not be fixing this door today," Splinter said causing Don to once again jump in surprise.

The sensei raised an eyebrow at his son when Don's head poked out from behind the shower curtain.

Don smiled sheepishly. "Yeh, yeh. I'll fix it first thing tomorrow." He pulled his head back into the shower and banged it against the wall. He wished for a moment that he could summon the anger and frustration from earlier. It had been so much easier to stand up to his father when he was pissed. No wonder Raph had such an easy time of it.

"Your brothers are no doubt missing your expertise. It is a good thing the video equipment is not broken. Michelangelo insisted you spend a whole day fixing it last time."

"I don't mind," Donatello shrugged. In truth, he had had better things to do that day, but a bored Mike was never a good thing, so he gave in.

"And the week it took you to repair Raphael's motorcycle. It was ruined from him racing Mr Jones was it not?"

Don blinked in surprise. How did Splinter know about that? Raphael swore Donatello to secrecy and he never told. Don valued his head far too much. He considered silence to be the best thing in this case so he said nothing.

"They demand a great deal from you." After a brief hesitation. "Indeed, I myself have taken advantage of your talents at times. You must have better things to do than to fix the television….or do Raphael's chores."

Don froze in the shower for a moment and then turned off the water. The towel was tossed over the curtain rod and Don wrapped it around himself before opening the curtain. "What?"

Splinter studied his son for a moment. "It is alright every now and again to say no Donatello. Especially when you feel you are being taken advantage of, or being treated unfairly. You are no one's slave or servant."

Don frowned slightly. "If you knew it was unfair, then why did you let Raphael put his chores on my list of things to do?"

"While speaking with Raphael last night, I had first refused the ploy. But after a few moments, I realized I could teach you a very valuable lesson. I explained to Raphael that he may include them, but if you refused then that would be that."

Don stepped out of the shower and grabbed his robe. "A lesson?" He could feel the anger bubbling again and he welcomed it.

Unaware or unfazed by his son's potential explosion, Splinter continued. "That is the purpose of this exercise."

Don pulled on his robe frowning, "So, all I have to do is say no?"

Splinter smiled slightly. "It is as simple as that, My Son. And if there is ever a time you feel put upon by your family, then it is alright to say no in those instances as well."

"Then I refuse to participate in this stupid exercise anymore," Don said stubbornly crossing his arms across his plastron. He adopted Raphael's "teenager" stance and expression.

Again his father merely smiled. "As in all things, My son, you must learn balance and which battles are worth fighting. That is one you will surely lose. I suggest you concede."

Don fell silent for a second. Raphael wouldn't concede so easily. Raphael wouldn't admit defeat. Raphael would carry this until the bitter end. Raphael…Raphael was also an idiot. He dropped his arms and bowed slightly. "Hai, Sensei."

---------------------------------------------

"OW! Shit!" Raphael dropped the screwdriver as Mike's radio once again shocked him. He picked it up to toss it across the room.

"You can do that," Leonardo said. "But then Mike will have something to hold over your head."

Raphael glared at him for a moment before putting the radio back on Don's worktable and setting to work again. "A loose wire," he muttered. "You know how many wires this thing has?"

Leo looked over Raph's shoulder to count them but his brother elbowed him back. "Don't act like Mike here, Leo," he warned. "You don't have his…whatever it is. I'll just kick your ass and not care."

Leo smirked and sat down on Don's bed. "All in all, I have to admit, this day hasn't been too terrible. The lair's still standing. Everyone is still alive. And I get the day off."

Raphael grumbled angrily and yelped when he got shocked again.

"I think Mikey is even realizing that being leader isn't all it's cracked up to be." Leo was fully expecting his little brother to have a better appreciation for him once this thing was over. "He may even start taking his studies a little more seriously."

Raph ignored him, letting Leo ramble. It was a trick he used often with Mike and as long as he could pretend Leo was Mike, he wouldn't kill him.

Mike peeked into the room. "Hey, one of Don's alarm thingy's is going off. M'gonna go check it out."

Leo got to his feet. "I'll go with you."

Mike waved him off. "Nah, I got it. S'probably a rat or something like usual. You got lessons with Splinter….and dinner to fix."

Leo looked worried and shook his head. "You shouldn't go out by yourself, Mikey. I'll go…"

"I got it Leo. I am the leader after all. Brave and sure and all that. Be back soon." He ducked out of the room.

Leo frowned a little. No way was he letting his little brother go by himself. Leader or no leader, he still had a responsibility.

"Think we can follow him without him knowing?" Raph looked up reading Leo's mind.

Leo smiled slightly. "Not a problem."


	17. Chapter 17

((Thank you thank you Cynlee! I was hopelessly blocked until she helped out. Thanks as always to my reviewers. Keep'em comin folks!))

Michelangelo strolled through the sewers not really in any hurry to get to his destination. He figured it was just rats setting of the alarms anyway. It had felt kind of nice to just go check out things without having to account for every single second of where he would be. Sometimes his family took the "baby of the family" thing too seriously. Especially since no one knew for sure that he was younger. For all they knew, he could be older than Master Splinter.

For a brief movement Mike entertained the thought of sending his sensei to his room and making him do all the chores he hated most. He didn't think for one moment that he could get his father to buy into that line of reasoning. Mike was the baby and it was a position that had benefits and set backs. But for the day, Michelangelo was enjoying having a position of authority.

With a small whoop he leaped across the channel singing, "I got the power! I can feel the power!"

Trailing a few yards behind their brother, Leonardo and Raphael concentrated on not being seen or heard. It wasn't too hard.

"All that racket he's making, it would be easy as hell to sneak up on him and scare the piss outta him," Raph commented with a smirk.

Leo sighed shaking his head. "It would be easy for a marching band to sneak up on him. You know, I thought he was actually taking this whole thing seriously. Learning a little responsibility."

Raph snorted. "Right. This is Mike we're talkin' about. Think he was lyin' about the whole alarm thing?"

Leonardo fell silent for a moment considering that. "It's possible, I guess. If he did, I'll kill him."

"You'll have to stand in line." Raph said listening to his youngest brother's rendition of "What if God Was One of Us" as it floated back through the sewers to them. "Idiot."

Before Leo could reply, the sound of Mike's high pitched girl type scream echoed in the tunnels. The two turtles took off running in the direction of their younger brother's shouts.

Raphael hoped against hope that Mike had gotten snared in one of his modified security arrangements. But the closer they got, they could hear another voice as well. Weapons drawn, the two brothers rounded the corner ready to jump in the fray.

"Shit!" Casey jumped back several feet startled by the silent arrival of the battle ready turtles. He collided with Mike who also stumbled back barely avoiding one of Raph's rigged sensors.

"Casey!" Leo and Raph shouted at the same time.

"What the hell are you doin' down here?" Raphael demanded putting his sai back into his belt.

Before Casey could answer, Mike stepped forward, arms folded and tapping his foot in a great show of patience. "What are YOU guys doing out here? I thought that I, your great and illustrious leader, commanded you to stay in the lair."

Mike wasn't entirely surprised when his shell connected with the sewer wall, Raph's hand planted firmly on his plastron. "Listen here, FEARFUL Leader, the day you command anything is the day I take up ballet."

Raph's veiled threat did little to wipe the confident smirk from Mike's face. "Ah ah ah, Raphie. Now where is that pacifist, intellectual type we all know and love?"

Looking beyond confused, Casey spoke up, "Yeh speaking of the Brainiac…do you guys know why he came to April's only to just take off? Somehow April decided it was my fault and told me to go find him."

Leo sighed shaking his head. "It's a long story, Casey. Don's fine, though. He's talking it out with Sensei. And you can tell April it wasn't your fault."

"Yeh! It was Raph's!" Mike piped up peering over Raph's shoulder

Raph pushed Mike into the wall again to get him to shut up, which of course didn't slow his youngest brother down for a moment.

"And Donnie's just channeling his inner hothead. He always was an overachiever."

"Shut up, Mike," Leonardo snapped before Raph could, surprising even himself. But he'd already had his fill of this chatty turtle. "So Casey set off the alarm?"

Mike looked both indignant and insulted. "Well, I was checking out the situation before you guys showed up. And Casey said he didn't set off the alarm." He folded his arms and stepped around Raph to go and look at the sensor.

Leo glanced to Casey. "You're sure you didn't?" He looked around the tunnel a bit embarrassed. He had assumed that Casey had been the one the alarm was warning them against. If it wasn't him, then someone or something else had been responsible and if it was someone, they could still be nearby listening to them argue.

"I wasn't even near it when I ran into Mike," Casey defended. He too glanced around the sewers looking for some unseen enemy.

Raph smirked to himself watching his brother fiddle with the alarm. He wasn't even going to warn Mike. Let him trip the sensor. It would serve him right. He stepped back a couple of feet to avoid the splatter zone. A part of him would enjoy watching Leo and Casey get it too.

"Raph," Leo's voice broke into Raphael's musings. "Come on. You and I will scout further ahead. Someone may still be nearby."

Mike got to his feet. "Hey, hey, hey! Wait! That's MY decision remember?" He brushed off his hands. "You two minions just head back to the lair. Casey and I will investigate this little matter."

"Like hell!" Raph yelled. "You, who walks through the sewers fuckin' singing at the top of your lungs. If someone WAS here, they know YOU'RE here too."

In complete disregard for his life, Mike put one hand over Raph's mouth. "Shhhhh….you're not being very ninja-like, Raphael. Now, I know you have important things to fix back at the lair. And Leo…." He shook his head and wagged his finger at Leonardo like he was a naughty turtle tot. "You are already late for your lessons with Master Splinter."

Raph's eyes were wide with shock. He was so stunned at Mike's audacity, he couldn't muster a reply that would be both appropriate and painful enough. Leo, for his part was also stunned into silence at being lectured by Mike. He, like Raph, couldn't think of a response that would suit the occasion.

Mike moved his hand from Raph's mouth and turned to Casey who looked like he had just stepped into the Twilight Zone. "So, Casey, would you like to help me check out the tunnels just in case there's some unfriendly folks around?" He then committed a grave error. He turned his back on the ever growing anger of Raphael.

With a growl, Raph lunged for Mike, but as he did he hit a trip wire that was buried underneath the rocks of the tunnel. There was a snapping sound and then a woosh of liquid as everyone was covered in the most foul smelling of liquid waste.

Sounds of disgust and revulsion echoed through the tunnel, but they couldn't overshadow the cackling of one person standing on the other side of the sewer stream. Blinking the sludge from their eyes, everyone looked over.

Don waved a little from his vantage point. "Revenge is a dish best served cold….and smelly…and disgusting."

"Donnie!" Raph growled. "What the hell…?"

"You set this up?" Mike gagged trying to wipe the nastiness from his face.

"I tripped the alarm, I set up the barrel….much better than a bucket, don't you think Raph? Covers a wider area. It gets the annoying one, the overbearing one, and the one who thinks I live to be his slave." He grinned. "Sorry Casey. You should really keep better company."

"Donatello!" Leo yelled angrily. "You are so going to pay for this!"

"When I get my hands on you, Don…." Casey threatened.

Donatello, still reveling in his revenge, started to back away from the goopy mob. "Splinter said I should start saying no to you guys. Think of this as my way of saying no…in the past and in the future."

"You're dead," Raph vowed starting for him.

Don continued to back away. "Now Raph. Don't forget who you are." He smiled slightly. He had rationalized this payback being "Raph-ish" because it was Raphael who had initially set up the traps anyway. Not a great rationale, he knew. But then again, Raph wasn't one to let a silly thing like logic stop him.

"Oh, I remember who I am," Raph said, his eyes narrowing. He was the first to leap the channel after Don, but the other three followed.


	18. Chapter 18

((THANK YOU THANK YOU CYNLEE! From plot ideas to dialogue, you are the

WO-MAN. Enjoy all))

"Master, that water's COLD," Mike whined while both trying to avoid the spraying hose and get the foul smelling goop from his body.

Splinter's sigh could not be heard over the spraying water or the protests and sputtering of his other sons or their friend. He had been enjoying a nice snack. Leonardo's meal, while nutritionally sound, did leave a lot to be desired. So, he thought some cheese and crackers, along with a nice cup of tea would be just the thing. Unfortunately, he was only about two minutes into his relaxing meal when Donatello came tearing through the lair.

Splinter jumped to his feet when four beings came running in right behind him. For a moment he thought intruders had found the lair. He was only seconds from attacking the lead man when he realized…it was Raphael. His sensitive nose wrinkled in disgust and it was only through years of practicing self-control that he did not vomit his snack on the couch.

One shrill whistle and all movement stopped. Donatello poked his head out from where he had been trying to hide in his room. There were nasty footprints all over the floor and the smell…

"Donatello, clean up this mess!" He could figure out easily enough just who was responsible for this whole thing. "The rest of you, OUT of the lair!"

And now, some twenty minutes later, he was still trying to hose them down.

"Turn around, Raphael," Splinter called out to his son, knowing that there was still a great deal of the stuff on his carapace and legs.

"I'm gonna KILL him," Raph grumbled complying. "Dammit, OW! Sensei, can ya turn DOWN the power on that thing a lil?"

Casey leaned forward letting the spray soak his hair. When he had first seen Splinter coming with the hose, his first thought was to run. Then again, where would he run? There was no way April would let him in the apartment that way, and if he tried to make it to his place, he would be arrested for environmental pollution or something. Now his clothes were soaked through. "Gonna burn them anyway," he muttered to himself.

Splinter stepped a bit closer to Mike and finished rinsing him down. He let go of the sprayer for a moment and tossed his youngest a towel. "Go and shower, Michelangelo." He noticed his teeth chattering just a bit. Michelangelo's tolerance of the cold has always been lower than his brother's. "Find something warm to put on."

Mike gratefully dried off with the towel and headed for the door. He passed Donatello on the way in. His brother was kneeling down trying to scrub the floor looking very much like a green Cinderella. He was so blissfully unaware that Mike wound up the towel ready to snap him with it.

"And leave Donatello alone!" Splinter called after him.

Don looked up quickly at Mike and smiled slightly. "Nice shower?"

Mike lowered the towel giving Don the sternest leader-type glare he could manage. "You're grounded!"

Don blinked in surprise for a moment but recovered quickly. Posting his best Raphael expression on his face, "Bite me." He went back to scrubbing, pleased with himself in general.

Mike scowled as he heard the hose turn on again to finish with the cleaning. He twirled the towel and snapped his brother's backside hard with the wet cloth. He hurried to the bathroom before Don's yelp could be heard and responded to.

From the sewers, Splinter could easily pretend he didn't hear his son's surprised cry of pain. He concentrated the spray of water on Leonardo. It appeared that his oldest son got the worst of the deluge. Why did his sons never learn? This sewer water was dangerous. It only took a little amount to cause severe illness. He had considered using the medicine to induce vomiting, but he knew it would be a struggle. His sons had become wise to that concoction many years ago.

Splinter turned off the hose and set it on the ground. He handed the remaining three towels and folded his arms. "Would anyone care to explain?"

Leo wiped his face and looked up. He thought of saying something along the lines of, "that's Mike's job" but instead opted for silence.

Raphael, however, had no problems venting. "The only thing left to explain is how many ways I can make Donatello suffer for this."

Casey, who had already taken off his shirt, wished he could take off the jeans as well. There was no worse feeling than wet jeans. Ok, there were worse feelings, but not many. "I'll hold'em for you."

Don listened just inside the door. He knew he was putting life and limb on the line when he concocted this scheme, but he didn't care… at the time.

But Splinter wasn't about to let this whole thing escalate further. "No one is going to do anything to Donatello," he said firmly.

_That's telling them, Sensei, _Don thought, smiling. _I knew I could count on you._

"I will deal with him myself," Splinter continued.

Don's smile fell away quickly. _Damn. _He got to his feet with the bucket and scrub brush. The floor was as sparkling as he could make it and he'd used a deodorizer to help with the smell, so the lair was back to normal.

He smiled slightly at his brothers and Casey as they filed back into the lair behind Splinter. There was only one shower, so they would have to wait for Mike.

"Leonardo, go and tell Michelangelo that he has five more minutes," Splinter instructed. He turned to Casey and Raphael. "There may be something for Casey to change in to. Check the old trunks in the storage closet."

Raph glared at Don as he past him and Casey offered his own scowl as he squished by.

That left Don with Splinter. Don smiled slightly. "The floor's clean. I think I need to polish my sai…" _Or something…_

"It will keep for a moment, I am sure," Splinter said dryly. "Donatello, you know that it is dangerous to dump this stuff on people. The infections…"

"Raphael did it to me!" Donatello interrupted hotly and winced a little at his tone of voice. He'd become possessed with the spirit of Raphael.

"That was an accident, you had said so yourself," Splinter replied sternly. "And watch how you speak to me Raph…I mean Donatello." Splinter blinked and caught himself. He very rarely mixed up his sons in such a way. Perhaps it was his age catching up to him or perhaps it was the way Donatello was standing. Feet spread slightly apart, arms crossed over his chest with a scowl on his face. If he had not been wearing the purple eye mask…"You are restricted to the lair for one week."

Don's eyes widened. Grounded? Him? He didn't get grounded. MIKE got grounded. Raph got grounded. Even Leo on occasion when he and Raph fought. But not him! "A week? I splattered them, I didn't DROWN them."

"I could always make it two," Splinter said calmly.

Don's mouth snapped shut and he glared for a second before storming away with the cleaning bucket. He growled under his breath, ready to let loose on the first thing that got in his way.

From the opposite direction, Mike came out of the bathroom dressed in a fluffy yellow robe that April had left after one of her overnight stays. "Who was that masked turtle?" he asked smiling. His lips no longer a shade of blue he dropped down on the couch to finish warming up.

Splinter shook his head. "I am not sure." He sat down on the couch wearily. "It seems as though he and Raphael switched bodies."

Mike snickered. "Well, they kinda have. And we know whose idea that was…." He trailed off seeing the not so happy look on Splinter's face. He snapped his fingers. "I just remembered! Bye." He was up and out of the room in the blink of an eye.

Splinter sighed and glanced at his cold, stale snack still on the coffee table where he left it. "Kids."


	19. Chapter 19

((Whoot! Almost done with this baby. Another three or four chapters, I'm guessing. I hope. Some more family bonding time. The action will be coming up in the next couple of chapters. LOL, especially for Donnie. Shhhhhhh, Cyn!))

Dinner was even more solemn than lunch. Splinter regarded the table thoughtfully as he ate. Three sons were upset with the fourth, and the fourth was upset with him. The rat sighed inwardly. Such was life with teenagers. Donatello was angry now, but he would be over it by morning, as would his brothers.

True to his word, Leonardo added meat to the dinner plate. His intention had been to cook spaghetti with meat sauce. The spaghetti, while a bit chewy, came out ok. The sauce was easy to heat. The hamburger…well…there was a problem with that and it ended up in the garbage. However, Leo was determined to put meat on the table. Therefore, dinner became spaghetti and bologna sandwiches. The combination was odd to be sure, but Michelangelo was enjoying it if no one else was.

Casey had gone home at his first opportunity. He discarded his gunked up clothing and wore an old trench coat over his underclothes. Mike joked that Casey was going to be a flasher (a joke that no one but Mike found amusing).

Donatello actually felt a little guilty about catching Casey in the crossfire. The man hadn't done anything to him. Not really, anyway. He couldn't be considered competition because he never told her…WHOA! Don stopped that line of thought in a hurry and he could feel his face heat up just a bit. Clearing his throat self-consciously, he told himself he would apologize to Casey at the first opportunity.

Dinner conversation was muted to the point of being almost non-existent. The turtles did however remember their manners and mutters of, "pass the salt" or "can I have the ketchup?" echoed around the table.

Unable to bear the silence any longer, Michelangelo spoke up, "So, how 'bout we go patrolling tonight? Or maybe a training run?"

Splinter nodded and smiled at his youngest son's efforts. "I think that is a good idea, Michelangelo."

He heard both Leonardo and Donatello mutter something under their breath about being "allowed" to go. Splinter smiled inwardly. Ah, yes…Leonardo learned an important thing about being Michelangelo. His youngest son very rarely went anywhere alone. It was not that Splinter did not trust Michelangelo. All right, maybe a little.

_However_, Splinter mused as he twirled the spaghetti on his fork. _I am justified in my fears. Any time Michelangelo is out on his own, he becomes sidetracked and gets in to some trouble. The last time he was out alone, he came home with women's underclothing on his head._

When Leonardo announced that he had to go pick up something from April's house, Splinter insisted Raphael accompany him. It was a fact that angered Leo and delighted Raph. So it could very well be, that Leonardo was angry with his father as well.

Mike looked at Splinter excitedly. "Sensei, please let Donnie go. I know he's been a pain in the shell. Arguing. Kinda being defiant. Misbehaving. I mean that joke was uncalled for. And…"

"Jeez, Mike," Raph interrupted. "You ain't helpin' ya know?"

Leo shook his head. As oldest, he quite frequently had to plead for his younger brothers, to help them out of trouble. It seemed like Mike was trying his hand at it. Or maybe he was just trying to get Don in more trouble.

Don looked at the pseudo-leader. "Don't help me, Mike. Ok?"

Mike sighed. "What I meant to say, Sensei…"

Splinter held up a hand for Michelangelo to stop. His brothers were correct. He was not helping. In all honesty, he had not intended on carrying Donatello's restriction past that day. He would have a talk with his son about the lessons he had learned and give him an early parole. Provided Donatello did not cause any more trouble that day. "I understand, Michelangelo. As it is an exercise run and we only had one training session today, then I will allow Donatello to go despite his punishment."

Don's head snapped up in surprise. He couldn't remember a time that Splinter didn't strictly enforce a punishment. But then again…**_he_** was very rarely grounded.

"Sweet!" Mike grinned. "We'll head over to the warehouse district and…"

Leo broke in. "Mike, there's been some trouble over on the lower-east side lately. Maybe we should…"

"No!" Mike's fist came down onto the table lightly, but his eyes had a spark in them. A spark that clearly told everyone this was his decision and he had made it.

Raph and Leo blinked at each other before looking back to Mike. Leo tried again. "Then maybe you and Don can take the warehouse district and Raph and I…."

Mike shook his head stubbornly. "I am leader, right?"

Leo stared at him. Refusing to answer that question. Don hid a smile behind his napkin. As much as Mike's leadership status was going to his youngest brother's head, he loved seeing Mike swat Leo down.

Mike persisted. "And YOU are the little brother, right?" He had to drive this point home. For one, if they were going out patrolling his brothers had to understand that he is the leader. It was a matter of respect. And secondly, he wanted to go to the warehouse district and Leo couldn't stop him! So There!

Leo glared at him. He didn't act like this. He listened to everyone's opinion before making a decision. He wasn't a…a…tyrant. He exhaled quietly and tried to explain this to Mike. "Mikey, the point of being a good leader is to get the input of everyone on your team. Gather all the facts possible and then make a decision. It's not about being a dictator." He glanced to Splinter hoping for a little support, but the ninja master was quiet.

Leonardo recognized the look in his eye. As long as there was not bloodshed, he was willing to let them resolve this on their own.

Mike studied Leo for a second before glancing to his brothers. "Raph, where do you want to go?"

Raph stuffed the rest of his sandwich into his mouth. Around his mouth full, "I don't care long as I get to bust a few…." He hesitated and swallowed before making a face. "I mean, long as I get to try out some kinda gadget thing I got."

He didn't know what gadget thing he was talking about and he didn't really care. He just needed to get out of the lair. He needed some air. And he needed some action. Being a nerd didn't suit him. It was too boring. You never got to do your own thing; always fixing things for other people. It was annoying as hell. How Donnie didn't have a drinking problem with all this pressure he'd never know.

"How 'bout you, Donnie?" Mike asked.

Don took a sip of water and paused for a moment. He smirked. "Long as there's a fight, I'm there." He cringed inwardly at how that sounded. It definitely wasn't him and he wasn't sure he could live up to the statement of looking for a fight. But seeing Splinter's face when he said it made it worthwhile. There was a bit of revenge to be had on his mean old Father.

Mike nodded. "And you, Leo?"

Leo sighed. "I already told you. There is some trouble on the lower-east side worth investigating. I think we should at least start there."

Mike nodded again thoughtfully. He took a bite of spaghetti and chewed slowly. He appeared to be taking everyone's input to heart before making his decision. After about two full minutes of silence he put his fork down. "It's settled. We go to the warehouse district."

Leo banged his head lightly on the edge of the table. WHY wasn't Mike taking anything he said seriously? A little voice in the back of Leo's mind reminded him that he very rarely took anything MIKE said seriously.

_But that's different, _Leo argued with himself. _Mike never tries to be serious. And even if he was, how can you tell with him?_

Mike bounced to his feet with his empty plate, taking it to the sink. "Hey, Don-San, you got dishes again right?"

Don grimaced taking his plate over. "I'd like to know when I became the house-boy around here."

"Right about the time you switched places with me," Raph chuckled. "Oh and by the way." He walked over with his plate and said quietly so as not to disturb those still eating. "I think the toilet is clogged again thanks to Mike."

Don made a face starting the water. "I am not doing that. You can do it since you're the handy man. I've done enough around here for one day."

Raph shrugged. "Ok." He started to walk away and took the bo staff from Don's back.

Don spun. "Hey! What are you doing with that?" He knew that Splinter suggested some cross training, but there were plenty of spare weapons in the dojo. Raph didn't have to use his bo.

Raph smirked over his shoulder. "Every job requires a tool. This should work on that toilet."

Don's eyes widened and he raced after Raph.


	20. Chapter 20

_I'd apologize for the delay but honestly I don't have any excuse other than laziness….two jobs…three kids…and school. But thanks for those of you sticking with me. And Ryan, here's your present. Better late than never huh? Please don't defame the name of Santa. LOL! And Cyn…just well…hugs_

Michelangelo led his brothers from rooftop to rooftop. He was enjoying setting the pace of this outing. He could easily out run any of his brothers on a good day (sometimes even on a bad day) and he was making sure they were getting a good workout trying to keep up with him. The pseudo-leader would sometimes allow his brothers to get within swearing distance, only to race away before they could complete the threat. It probably wouldn't have bothered his brothers so much, but Mike couldn't resist "encouraging" them.

"Jeez Raph, all the muscles in your fat head slowing you down?!"

"Leo, Leo. A slow ninja is a dead ninja!"

"Hey Donny! We may be turtles, but we don't have to MOVE like'em!"

"C'mon Team! I'll hop on one foot if it'll help!" And he would for a few seconds before someone came into striking range and then he was off again.

Raphael cursed his youngest brother even as he ran. He imagined it took some kind of talent to mutter such a string of profanity while his legs had to be clocking 30 MPH. He would have yelled out to Mike to slow the hell down, but that would be breaking character. Not only that, he wouldn't give the little prick the satisfaction. This had always been a favorite game of Mike's. While not as strong as Raphael or as proficient as Leonardo, he could always manage to play keep away.

Raph sped up to at least catch up to Leonardo.

Leo was right on Mike's heels, but he had the feeling this was all part of his baby brother's game. He would let Leo get within a few feet before somehow darting away again and Leonardo had given up trying to tell him they were supposed to be patrolling, not playing tag. The eldest turtle consoled himself with the thought that Mike would have to slow down sometime; briefly he wondered how much sugar Michelangelo had ingested today to keep such a pace. Oh well, if nothing else, Mike would sleep well tonight.

If Michelangelo had not been having such a grand time taunting Leonardo and Raphael, he would have realized that Donatello had long ago abandoned his brothers. True to Raphael form, he ran with his brothers for all of a mile before stopping and going his own way. As it turned out, his own way took him straight to Casey Jones's apartment. The turtle knew he still owed the man an apology. Donatello never intended for their friend to get caught in the crossfire of the sewage attack.

He rapped on the window just outside the fire escape and peered inside. He saw a shadow moving closer to the window and stepped back as Casey opened it. Don hopped inside rubbing his hands together.

"Hey Casey," he smiled a little sheepishly.

The human didn't look too amused with him. He stood with his arms crossed over his chest and with an expression that could be one of irritation. Maybe Don interrupted something.

"Casey, I'll leave but..uh…wanted to apologize first," Don murmured. "I wasn't trying to get you. You just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time." He waited for a few seconds studying Casey's face for some clue as to his mood.

After about a minute, Casey shook his head. "It's good." He left it at that and headed for the kitchen. "Want a soda? Beer?"

Don blinked in surprise before following him cautiously. That was it? He was going to have to sell his soul to get his brothers to forgive him. "Uh, soda. No, wait. Beer." That's what Raph would have.

Casey tossed it to him without a second thought. "Alright, so what gives?"

Don opened the beer and took a tentative sip and he grimaced at the bitter taste. Soda would have been better. Not wanting to appear wussy (definitely not a Raph characteristic), he took a bigger drink and very nearly gagged. "What are you talking about?" He said, coughing.

Casey opened his own beer and took a long drink before answering. "Raph told me things were gonna be screwy today, but he wouldn't say why. So, what gives?"

"It's a long story," Don said with a sigh. He took another drink (ok so maybe the taste grows on you), before continuing. "It's a training exercise of Splinter's." He went on to explain the incidents of the day before and ended with ditching his brothers just now. "Personally, I think Splinter was just bored and needed some entertainment." He had finished the can over the course of his explanation and asked Casey for another.

Casey tossed it to him and chuckled. "So you guys are the comic relief of the day huh? And you get to be Raph?"

Don raised his beer in a mock salute. "In all his pissed off glory." He leaned back against the counter, feeling the day's stresses ebbing away. He glanced at the can wondering if this was how Raphael felt. Is this why his brother enjoyed alcohol? He personally never understood the desire and not that he was planning on taking up drinking, but he could kind of understand. It beat the hell outta coffee. Intellectually though, Donatello also understood the use of alcohol as a crutch. He didn't need a crutch. He took another drink.

Casey waved his hand in front of Don's face. "Earth to Don."

Don looked up and smiled. "Sorry, I was just thinking. You were saying?"

"Well, I was thinking. If you gotta be Raph for the day, it should have its advantages. I mean, you got to do what Raph'd do?" Casey tossed his empty can in the garbage.

"That's the idea," Don sighed. "I haven't done much. Aside from ticking everyone off, getting grounded, and ditching my brothers." He chuckled. "All in a day's work for Raph, I guess."

"Then you gonna take Raph's place tonight?" Casey headed for the living room.

Maybe it was the alcohol. Maybe it was exhaustion from the nightmares and housework all day. Or maybe Don just misheard, but that did not sound good. He set the can on the counter. "Well, whatever you and Raph do, Casey, I…well, I wouldn't want to, interfere or anything. I mean…" His face turned a bit red as he followed the human. He realized that he had no idea what Raph and Casey did together and he suddenly didn't want to know.

Casey grabbed his coat from the nearby rack. "We're goin out. It's a little bar me and Raph hang out at. Don't worry, it's dark and not crowded this time 'a night."

Don's eyes widened. "Casey, I can't." He knew that Raphael frequented clubs and bars with Casey. But he had never considered going himself. It was too risky. Splinter would kill him. But then again, Splinter never finds out about Raph going.

"Don't worry," Casey repeated. "I ain't gonna let you get into any trouble."

Don frowned at the idea of needing Casey to protect him. He was ninja for goodness sake! "It's not that. It's…" He sighed and pulled down the brim of his hat. "Fine. Just for a couple minutes. Half hour at the most." He headed for the fire escape. "I'll meet you down in the alley."


	21. Chapter 21

(Don't throw tomatoes

(Don't throw tomatoes! Um….I think three chapters after this one. And yeh. NO tomatoes. Any words not spelled correctly are probably due to Don's inebriated state)

Casey half-carried half-dragged Donatello through the sewers. Who knew that a ninja turtle couldn't hold his alcohol? Casey had bought the first round, and Don nursed that drink the whole time they were there. It just seemed that despite the glass always being more than half-filled, Don still got more than a little half- tipsy. And the tipsy turtle could only mean one thing for Casey….he was in deep shit. He could just hear April's voice now, not to mention Splinter's, Leo's…hell maybe even Raph's. He could have taken Don to his own apartment, and trying to sober him up before going home, and if this had been Raph, he would have done that. The problem was that Don just got drunk on way too little alcohol. Casey was worried about alcohol poisoning or something.

The thing was, Casey didn't set out to get Don blasted. He could see that the turtle had been having a pretty rough day. Casey also knew that sometimes the best thing to do is just kick back and have some fun. One beer, one or two dancers and then they'd be gone.

It always seemed to help Raphael out. The darkness of the bar, the total unawareness of the other patrons just seemed to mellow the hot-headed turtle out. It was only after one of their more indulgent nights, when Raph confessed to Casey that being in the bar was probably the closest he'd ever come to knowing anything near intimacy with a woman. To Raphael, that cheap bar was the closest he could come to humanity.

"Casey…" Donatello's voice was just a little slurred, breaking into Casey's thoughts. He was speaking very carefully, trying to keep up the pretense of sobriety. Casey had tried to encourage Don to practice this very Raphael-like skill.

"Yeh, Don?" The human tried to nudge Don into walking a little faster. If there was a tidal wave of vomit coming, he'd much rather one of Don's own family deal with the situation.

"I been thinkin'. I really didn' thin' it was poss'ble for humans to BEND that way. Is that gen'tic or what?" The turtle's eyes were wide as he remembered the dancers and Casey couldn't help but notice how his friend lost a few syllables here and there.

Casey nodded. The best plan was to always humor the drunk. "Yeh, Don. There's a small farm out in Queens where they raise pole dancers."

Don's eyes widened even more and Casey could swear the turtle's pupils were ready to explode. "There IS?! Don't let Raph or Mike know." He muttered. "We'd hafta move ta Queens."

"Cross my heart, Don. I won't let it slip." Casey sighed pulling Donatello a little harder. "Come on, we gotta get you home."

Don pulled his arm free, and stumbled back from Casey, nearly falling. "UH uh. I am not ready to go..home." He swayed in place for a minute. "Whoa….RIGHT here. It's 'mazing."

Casey watched Don sway for a moment making sure his friend didn't take a header into the sewer water. "What's amazing, Don?"

Don shifted from one foot to the other. "Never knew it a'fore. RIGHT here, I can feel the rotation of the earth." He stumbled a bit. "And DAMN are we spinnin' fast."

"Right. Um…I bet you can feel the rotation better in the lair." Casey had no clue what Donatello was talking about, but if he could use it to his advantage he would.

Don looked up. "You think? Maybe if we stan' really close, I can feel the rotation and you can feel the rev…revol….the other spinning."

Casey shrugged. "Ya never know." He took Don's arm again. "Come on. And when we get to the lair, you let me do the talking ok?"

Don started walking or stumbling along beside Casey. "Why? I can talk jush fine. See? No prob'ems."

Casey sighed again. This was not turning out how he had pictured. "Don, you're a little bit drunk. I think Splinter will be a little bit upset. And the more you talk, the more upset he's gonna get. So, let me talk, ok?"

"Drunk? DRUNK! M'not drunk! THAT is a nas'y rumor started by all the thin's I have tripped over on my way here." Don giggled at the way too old joke, and just stared at Casey when the human heaved him up to stand against a wall.

Casey gave him a look. "Don't move." He put one hand against the turtle's chest, holding him into place.

Don blinked at him again. "Huh?"

Casey held up his other hand, palm out. "Stay." He left Don there and walked a foot or so to the right where he knew the lair entrance to be. It was probably best to try to prepare Splinter ahead of time for this.

Meanwhile, Don was scoffing at the order he'd been given. "Stay. Hmph. M'not a dog. Maybe I should pee on his shoes or somethin'."

Casey disabled the lock on the door and slid it open. He glanced around the main area of the mutants' lair. He wasn't sure what Splinter would be doing right about now. Maybe he was meditating on all of the great mysteries of the world. Casey was more than a little surprised to see the right sitting in front of the television watching a cage fight. What's more, the rat was also correcting the participants' moves. Out loud.

Splinter shook his head. "You are leaving yourself FAR too open to that subm.." He heard the door open, and thought for a moment that it was his students returning. But the lack of noise told him otherwise. He switched off the television and got to his feet.

"Mr. Jones. I must apologize about what happened earlier and I had hoped to explain the situation…" The rat trailed off seeing Casey's expression. Their human friend was not looking for apologies or explanations. "What is wrong?"

Casey scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Um, see, Donatello came by earlier this evening and…" He held up his hands, before Splinter could jump to the wrong conclusion. "He's FINE. He's right here with me. Thing is…"

From outside, Donatello heard Casey mention his name, and decided that his presence was now needed. He leaped over behind Casey, and fell into him, knocking them both to the ground. Don looked up at his sensei and grinned. "HONEY, I'm home! Heeeeeere's Donny!"

Casey groaned and pushed himself off the ground, lifting Don up to his feet. He faced Splinter, the sensei's face completely unreadable. "Splinter, I swear, I didn't….I mean…he wasn't supposed to get…He BARELY drank anything."

Don nodded to his sensei and held up all of his fingers. "I only had four." The turtle stared at his fingers. "No wait. That's six."

Splinter's eyes widened and then narrowed at Casey Jones.

Casey shook his head quickly. "NO. I swear. HE only had ONE glass."

Don laughed. "Yeh, One glass, but I had it filled…" He stared at his fingers again. "That many times."

Casey smacked his own forehead. THAT explained it. Damn these ninja. He tried to offer an apology and explanation to Splinter, but Don was still talking. Didn't Don remember the plan was NOT to talk?

Don walked closer to his stunned father. "Ya know what? I DID learn somethin' t'day. I learned it SUCKS to be Raph. SO what if he has a bad attitude. I mean…didja ever think there might be reason for it?" He pointed one finger at Splinter. "Didja ever think…" He shook his finger once, twice, and then, "What was I saying again…?"

Splinter exhaled closing his eyes. He counted to ten before opening them again. "Donatello, where are your brothers?"


	22. Chapter 22

_Well, I'm sorry. That's all there is to say, I guess. I fell out of the TMNT fandom for the most part, but because I am attempting to write again, I thought I'd start with my most successful story. I tried to look back and catch the wave of writing dialogue which used to come so naturally to me, it was a struggle at first. To other writers out there, I will say this. Writing is as much a skill as anything else, and if you don't use it, you'll lose it. Fight through writer's block and KEEP WRITING; even if it's not something of consequence. So with that, I present the next chapter (four years late), but better late than never huh?_

Chapter 22-

_Splinter exhaled closing his eyes. He counted to ten before opening them again. "Donatello, where are your brothers?"_

Donatello blinked rapidly at his father as if he was trying to clear his eyes. His mouthed worked up and down but nothing came out for a moment. Just when it looked like the genius had pulled himself together to speak, a loud belch came out and the alcohol in his stomach was suddenly on the floor.

Casey jumped back with a startled, "holy shit!" and did just avoid the backsplash.

Ever the parent, Splinter was instantly at Donatello's side with one hand on his son's shoulder, rapidly steering him to kitchen and to the garbage can. With a groan, Donatello heaved again in between muttering rapid apologies. Sorry for the mess. Sorry for getting drunk. Sorry for everything. Splinter was sure he heard his mention something about being sorry for watching inhumanly flexible women and wanting to move to Queens, but he couldn't be sure.

Something cool and wet pressed up against the back of Don's neck as he sunk to his knees. It took him a moment to realize that Splinter had gotten a washcloth from the sink and was now trying to soothe his ailing son. The rat was murmuring reassurances in calm Japanese when the vomiting turned to dry heaves and then finally ended altogether. He helped his son to his feet and to the sink.

Donatello could only follow and try to catch his breath. The room spun so quickly, and he felt unsteady on his feet. The turtle placed one hand on the counter to steady himself and Splinter caught the other hand, putting a plastic cup of cool water into it.

"Rinse." Splinter directed, his tone calm, but Donatello was sober enough to detect the other emotions just below the surface.

Casey stood in the doorway of the kitchen, wisely keeping himself out of the situation. If he thought he could make it, he would have made his escape attempt a long time ago.

Don did as he was told, rinsing his mouth out several times. It didn't help much, and he still felt very loopy.

Splinter took the cup and refilled it before handing it to him again. "Drink." He left his son for a second and retrieved a chair before pushing Donatello gently down into it. Don stared at the cup in his hand, debating the intelligence of the current directive.

"Drink." Splinter's voice was stern this time. "Slowly. You will get dehydrated."

Don took a tentative sip. When his stomach didn't rebel, he took another one.

Splinter's eyes flickered to the human in the doorway. "What did he drink and how much?"

Casey jumped as if he'd been stung. He wasn't expecting Splinter to be addressing him at that moment and it took him a minute to collect his thoughts. "Eh…two…beers at my place. And then…" He gestured to Don. "I guess a few rum and cokes from what Don just said." Casey's eyes widened at the look he was getting. "I swear, Splinter. I thought he'd only had one! I didn't know he was refilling his glass."

"Not Casey's fault," Don murmured staring at the cup in his hand.

"No," Splinter said. "It's not." The Sensei took a deep breath. "But we will talk about that later. When you are…sober."

Don nodded and then immediately regretted the action when the room lurched again.

"Drink." Splinter motioned to the water and then looked up again at Casey. "Were the others with you?"

Casey shook his head slowly. "No. Don showed up at my place alone. Wanted to apologize about earlier."

Splinter considered that for a moment and gazed down at his son. "You left your brothers." It wasn't a question. "Where?"

Don's eyes were focused on his cup, and he wasn't ready to look up at his master. "I uh…" Why was it so hard to form a coherent thought? He'd helped Raph often enough when his brother had too much to drink. He didn't remember Raph ever having a hard time talking. If nothing else, his brother talked TOO much when he was drunk. "The roofs. Somewhere. Mike was annoying."

Splinter turned away from his son, withdrawing the small cell phone from a pocket. He stepped into the next room, past Casey, and started to press buttons.

Casey took one nervous look at Splinter and then came over to Don. He knelt down in front of the turtle. "Don, dude. I am so sorry. I didn't think.."

"Not your fault," Don said. "Mine. All mine."

Casey exhaled. "Yeh, but I shoulda been watchin' better. Next time…"

Don looked up too fast and groaned at the feeling in his stomach. He took a moment before he was sure he wasn't going to puke on Casey. Again. "No next time. Never gonna drink again." He took a quick glance to where his father disappeared. "Never gonna leave the lair again, prob'ly."

Casey smiled faintly. "Can't say it wasn't fun."

Don tried to glare and then gave up. He snorted. "Kinda." He put one hand over his eyes and groaned, the cup nearly falling from his hand. Don put it down on the floor beside the chair.

Splinter came back into the kitchen and Casey stood up quickly. "They are not answering." He looked down at Donatello. "Were they still patrolling when you…slipped away?"

Don nodded once, finally looking up at his father. "Runnin'. A lot." Simple sentences were easier. The turtle noticed he was still losing letters somewhere along the way. He waved one hand toward the phone in Splinter's hand. "GPS can tell you where they are."

Splinter looked at the phone. He had a hard enough time dialing the infernal thing. What in the world was a GPS? Don held out his hand for the phone and Splinter gave it to him somewhat hesitantly. In normal circumstances, he didn't doubt his son's knowledge, but this was not normal circumstances.

A few taps to the keys and the GPS map sprang to life. It should have only been one tap, but Donatello's fingers seemed too big for him all of the sudden. Don spun the phone around so that the screen was facing his father. "All still together." He motioned vaguely to the three dots on the screen. "Av'nue C."

"I can go look for them," Casey volunteered. Hell, anything to get out here.

Splinter took his phone back. "No. I will." He looked at his son, debating. He didn't want to leave Donatello alone either. Not in the state he was in. Don's head had tipped forward and he groaned every few seconds.

Casey swallowed hard and then cleared his throat. "I'll stay with'em. Least I can do. I'll uh…clean up too."

_Gross_, Casey thought. _Way to bite the bullet there, Casey. Oh God, Splinter, please say no._

But whether divine or karma, life had its own way of punishing the stupid.

Splinter nodded and then caught Donatello's arm before pulling his son to his feet. Don was rapidly fading, so Casey was instantly on the other side, helping the turtle into the living room.

Between the two of them, they maneuvered Don onto the couch and onto his side. Splinter picked up his walking stick from beside his chair.

"I will return as soon as I can," Splinter said, though Casey knew the rat well enough to detect the worry in his voice. Whether the worry was for Don or the other three or a combination of all of them, Casey didn't know.

"I'll watch'em."

With one last look to his inebriated son, Splinter was gone.

Casey took in the stench and sight that surrounded him and went for cleaning supplies. "This is the LAST time I take any of you to a strip club."

_Hours Earlier…._

Much to Leonardo's annoyance, his little brother and pseudo-leader showed no signs of tiring of this keep away game. They hadn't done anything in the way of patrolling all night. All they had done was try to catch up to Mike and listen to his taunting. At one point, when Raphael was close enough to him, Leo swore he heard Raph mention something about using one of Mike's vintage comics as toilet paper. He shook his head and ran to catch up to Mike once more. He hazarded a glance behind him to see Raph just a few feet back, and Don…was nowhere.

Leo skidded to a stop, nearly causing Raph to collide with him. As it was, his brother had to leap and dive over Leo, skidding across the rooftop on his shell.

"What the hell, Leo?!" he barked when he finally came to a stop and flipped back to his feet.

"Don." Leo said and whistled loudly trying to signal Mike to stop.

Michelangelo slowed and then turned seeing that his team wasn't with him anymore. With a shake of his head, and hands on his hips, Mike jumped from the roof he was on to the where his brothers were.

"I did not call for break time, gentlemen."

"Shut it, dumbass," Raph snapped. "Where's Don?"

"Don?" Mike looked around, in confusion.

"Yes," Leo said frustrated. "Don. Donatello. Your brother."

Mike's eyes widened for a moment. "He was just here…wasn't he?"

"Ain't that your job to be watchin' for your team, Oh Fearless One?" Raph crossed his arms. He wasn't too worried. If he was in Don's place and Don was in his…which was kind of the case…he would have ditched a long time ago too.

Mike was silent for a moment. "No problem." He grinned. "I'll just call him." The defacto leader took out his cell and phoned his missing brother. He smirked at his brothers and waited. Waited. Waited. No answer. Mike lowered the cell, slowly. "He's not answering."

"Great," Leo sighed, his mind spinning through the possibilities and options.

Mike glared at Raph. "This is all your fault."

Raph's angry gaze snapped to Mike. "What the hell? MY fault? How is this MY fault?"

"Because if you weren't you, then Don wouldn't be him right now!" That sentence made sense to no one except Michelangelo. Mike took a breath. Being leader sure made his blood pressure sky rocket. "Ok ok. It doesn't matter that this is all Raph's fault.."

Raph took a breath, ready to let loose, but Leo just shook his head and pointed. Raph's eyes followed Leo's gesture and his breath came out in a gasp.

"What we have to do, is find Don," Mike continued.

"Mike," Leo said.

"We can talk about how this is Raph's fault later." Mike studied his phone deep in thought.

"Mike," Leo repeated.

"Maybe he just went home."

Raph rolled his eyes. "Oh for fuck's sake. MICHELANGELO." He was drawing his sai.

Mike looked up quickly and then he saw it too. "Uh oh…" The Foot Clan. There were maybe a couple dozen of them on the next roof over.

Leo already had his swords out and into a defensive posture. He almost said something, but then his gaze went to Mike. "Now what, Fearless Leader?"


	23. Chapter 23

_Less than a year this time! Go me? LOL. I vow to finish this sooner rather than later because really, it is almost done. Only one or two more chapters. Beware bad language and talk of alcohol and possible violence. Tried to keep it light, but the Foot have a way of ruining that. See if you can catch the reference to the first movie And now I present…_

Splinter nimbly zipped across the rooftops towards the direction Donatello had indicated. His sons knew enough to never ignore his calls, so the sensei could only assume something had gone wrong. This lesson in understanding each other had seemed like a good idea at the time, but with everything that happened, the ninja master could not help but wonder if he'd made a critical mistake.

The boys were a finely honed team, and he knew that under most circumstances they could take care of themselves, but this exercise seemed to have left them all unbalanced. He had no question that Michelangelo could lead a simple exercise run, but when it came down to leading the team into battle, his youngest son was at a disadvantage. While Michelangelo had many strengths, a tactician was not one of them. Even worse, they would be short one member of their team.

That also worried the rat. Donatello's behavior had so deteriorated, that his genius son was practically unrecognizable. Seeing the boy in a drunken state like that shook Splinter far more than when Raphael had come home in a similar stupor. The day's activities must have affected Donatello more than Splinter perceived and the miscalculation weighed heavily on his mind. Punishment could come later, but not before father and son could talk out what had driven the boy so far of course. Splinter's mind raced with possibilities and one revelation seemed startlingly clear to him.

His sons act and react to how they are being treated by their father and brothers. All day long, Splinter treated Donatello like he would Raphael, and Donatello reacted accordingly. It gave the rat insight not only to Donatello, but more importantly, to Raphael.

The Sensei pushed himself to run faster. If there was a problem, he needed to get to his sons. Once they were safely at home, they would all need to sit down and talk this out.

_Perhaps it is the Sensei that is learning the lesson_, Splinter thought to himself.

(**_Meanwhile...)_**

Michelangelo looked from the group of Foot Soldiers to his brothers. Several video game and comic references came to mind, but he didn't think any of them would be particularly helpful at the moment.

"Um, the leader suggests we run like hell," he finally said.

Raphael stiffened as if the very suggestion was an affront to his manhood. "Run? We don't run away."

"We do when we're out numbered and down a man," Mike argued. "We still don't know where Don is."

Leonardo nodded. "He's right, Raph. Our priority needs to be finding Don."

The displaced leader kept a wary eye on the army across the roof. The Foot seemed as undecided as they were. Neither group made a move.

"How do we know they don't got Don?" Raph countered.

The brothers were quiet for a moment as if Raphael had brought up a point they hadn't considered.

"We don't," Mike said. He looked back to the enemy group, uneasily. "Should we go ask them? Ow!" He rubbed the back of his head where Raphael hit him. "That's abuse of a minor _and_ cruelty to animals."

He ducked the next strike aimed at the same place as Raph scoffed. "File a complaint with social services or PETA."

Leonardo ignored his brothers through years of practice. "If they had Donatello, I think they would be making demands or at the very least making sure we know about it. They have to figure the best way to goad us into a fight would be to use Don as bait."

Leo's brain worked feverishly to come up with a plan, even as his sense of honor toward his sensei reminded him that he was temporarily replaced as the leader. It just seemed so natural to slide back into his familiar role, once they were in this type of situation. If nothing else, he could advise Mike. Hopefully his little brother was more open to suggestion than he had been previously.

Raph's eyes never left the enemies that were amassing on the next roof. "I still think they got'em. Can't be coincidence Don is missin' and they show up. Maybe they're waitin' for us to make the first move." It had been months since he'd had a good fight that wasn't with a brother. The adrenaline coursed through him and made him temporarily forget that he wasn't supposed to be the turtle who lived for the thrill of fighting.

"Sometimes a coincidence is just a coincidence," Leo reasoned.

Raphael rolled his eyes. "Ok. So what do we do?" He looked at Leo and Leo looked at Mike and Mike looked at…

Michelangelo's eyes widened realizing there was no one left to look at. He cleared his throat. "I guess this is why I'm the leader. This is why they pay me the big money. The buck stops with me. It's time to…"

"Oh for fuck's sake, Mike!" Raph interrupted. "Make a decision."

Michelangelo's eyes grew small in thought. "We can't take the chance that they have Don. We can't leave without making sure."

His brothers surprised him by nodding. Even Leo, who had disagreed, didn't argue once the decision had been made. Sometime later on, Michelangelo would look back on this moment and wonder just what the hell he had gotten himself into. His brothers followed his direction without question, and if he was wrong, he was taking them both down with him. That kind of power was paralyzing and Mike realized within the span of a few seconds, it was power that he didn't want. No wonder Leo was a tight ass.

"Guess they made their decision too," Mike said as the Foot Soldiers began to make their way closer to the turtles. "Don't knock them all out. We'll need to question at least one of them about Don."

Leo's eyes scanned their enemies. "I don't think that will be a problem, Mikey."

The three turtles moved into a defensive position, automatically correcting for the lack of one brother, and waited, tensed and ready.

Mike licked his lips as he watched. "I just had a thought."

Raphael snorted. "Pigs must be flying." The remark was said with a small degree of affection as he risked a glance at his little brother. "Spit it out. We ain't got all night."

Mike's grip on his weapons tightened, as the Foot Soldiers launched into an attack. He was fighting backwards on his heels, fighting off three soldiers at once. "I just thought that I don't want to be leader anymore!"

**_(Back at the Lair)_**

Donatello let the cool water splash over his head and face, as he let the shower help clear the cobwebs from his brain. He wasn't as shaky on his feet, and Casey had been giving him coffee to try to sober him up. The turtle was still prepared to have one hell of a hangover, and took a couple of Tylenol to head it off. He turned off the water and stepped out onto the bathroom floor. Casey was standing guard just outside the doorway, but the human's head was discreetly looking the other way. Don vowed to fix that door first thing in the morning. It wasn't like Casey could actually see anything, but it was the principle of the matter.

Don took one towel from the sink and wrapped it around his waist before grabbing another to dry off.

"It's ok. You can look now."

Casey leaned against the wall, still looking out into the main room. "Feeling better?"

Don wiped the towel across his face and reached for a toothbrush. "A little. My head feels like there's rocks in it and if I drink anymore coffee, I will throw up again. But at least the room isn't spinning anymore."

"Man, Donnie. I'm sorry." Casey shook his head and stared at the floor. "If I knew that you had never…"

"It's ok, Case," Don interrupted the man's tenth apology in the last half hour. "It's not like I'm that naïve. I knew what would happen if I drank that much." He stuck the toothbrush into his mouth and tried to brush away the nastiness in his mouth. It helped, but not much. With a sigh the turtle rinsed his mouth and toothbrush before tossing all the towels into the laundry to be cleaned.

Donatello had a sinking feeling who would be doing that chore and a lot of the other chores around the lair for a while. He rubbed his head and slipped out of the bathroom wondering how he got himself into this mess.

Casey followed him back out to the living room. "I got the floor cleaned up. I'm sure Splinter and the others will be back soon." He watched Don sink onto the couch. "Need anything?"

Don shook his head. In truth, he was worried about his brothers. Donatello had figured that they would all be home by now, and he was concerned that they hadn't even heard from Splinter. "Maybe we should go and help Splinter look for them."

"Right." Casey snorted as if that was the funniest thing he'd ever heard. "I don't think you're exactly in the shape to be going after anyone, Don. And really? I am _so_ up shit creek with Splinter, that if I let you go I might as well drown myself in it."

Don offered him a sad smile. "I think I'm the one up a creek with Sensei. Look on the bright side, at least you can go home."

"Nah, I think Splinter is just gonna be happy once you're all home. Listen, Don, why don't you get some sleep or something? I'll wake you up when they get home." He offered Don a large glass of water to keep the turtle from getting dehydrated.

Donatello looked at the cup and nodded wearily. "Thanks, Casey." He took a sip of the water and made a face. "Needs more ice." The turtle started to get to his feet, but Casey took the cup from him.

"I'll get it." Casey flipped on the television. "Last thing I need is for you moving around too much and start puking. I ain't cleaning up the floor again."

The human disappeared into the kitchen to get more ice. "Ya know…I think I was a little older than you when I got drunk the first time. Man, my dad was pissed. I think he yelled at me for like an hour."

He dropped the last few ice cubes from the tray into the glass and tossed the tray into the sink. "But…really? He was just glad I got home in one piece." Heading back out to the living room, Casey tried to reassure the boy. "I'm sure Splinter'll be…."

Casey very nearly dropped the cup. "Don? Sonofabitch!"

When babysitting ninja turtles, the first rule is to never take your eyes off of them.

Donatello was gone.


End file.
